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THE  ADVENTURES  OF 

FLEET  FOOT 

AND  HER  FA^^NS 


ALLEN  CHAFFEE 


GIFT  OF 
A.   P.    Morrison 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/adventuresoffleeOOchafrich 


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1                      I,*!!* 

■  ■■■,                                          '  -"^ " 

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Fleetfoot  and  her  fawns 


THE     ADVENTURES     OF 

FLEET     FOOT 

AND     HER     FAWNS 

A  True-tO' Nature  Story  for 
Children  and  Their  Elders 

BY 

ALLEN  CHAFFEE 

)• 

Author  of 
"Twinkly  Eyes,  The  Little  Black  Bear,"  "Trafl  and 
Tree  Top,"  and  "Lost  River,  or  The  Adven- 
tures of  Two  Boys  in  the  Big  Woods" 

niiUSTBATED 


MILTON  BRADLEY  COMPANY 

Springfield,  Massachusetts 
1920 


GIFT  OF 

Copyright.  1920,  by 
MILTON  BRADLEY  COMPANY 

Spbingfield,  Mass. 


Adventures  of  Fleet  Foot 


Bradtej^Qialit'  Boobs: 

^  Children 


WHO     IS     A     DEAR 
HERSELF 


iyi92876 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTBB  PAGE 

I.  The  Spotted  Fawns 1 

II.  A  Foxy  Trick 9 

III.  At  the  Valley  Farm 19 

IV.  The  Round-up 28 

V.  A  Son  op  the  Wild 36 

VI.  A  Strange  Friendship 41 

VII.  A  Wit  Ou't-witted 48 

VIII.  Steep  Trails 54 

IX.  The  Ogre  op  the  Air 59 

X.  Wild  Grapes 68 

XI.  Speckled  Trout 79 

XII.  The  Victor 84 

XIII.  The  Queer  Feathers 91 

XIV.  Starvation  Tims 96 

XV.  The  Gray  Wolves 105 

XVI.  The  Farmer's  Plan 114 


wmmmmmmwmmmmmmm 
THE  ADVENTURES 

FLEET  FOOT 
"AND  HER  DVWNS 


.•^.. 


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CHAPTER  I. 


THE  SPOTTED  FAWNS, 


"Me-o-ow!"  screamed  Old  Man  Lynx, 
from  the  heart  of  the  woods.  The  two  spotted 
fawns  heard  the  cry  from  their  laurel  copse 
on  the  rim  of  Lone  Lake.  But,  though  their 
big,  soft  eyes  were  round  with  terror,  so  per- 
fectly had  they  been  trained,  they  never  so 
much  as  twitched  an  ear.  Well  did  they 
know  that  the  slightest  movement  might 
show  to  some  prowler  of  the  night  just 
where  they  lay  hidden. 

Next  morning,  no  sooner  had  the  birds 
begun  to  chirp  themselves  awake,  than 
Mother  Fleet  Foot  fed  the  fawns  as  usual 
and  ate  her  own  light  breakfast  of  lily  pads, 

1 


2    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

Then  she  lined  up  the  two  fawns  before  her. 

** Children,"  she  said,  in  deer  language, 
''you  have  a  great  deal  to  learn  before  ever 
you  can  take  oare  of  yourselves  in  these 
woods.  From  now  on  we  are  going  to  have 
lessons." 

''Yes,  Mother,"  bleated  the  little  ones, 
"but  what  are  lessons." 

"They  are  going  to  be  as  much  like  play 
as  we  can  make  them,"  said  Fleet  Foot. 
"You  need  practice  in  running,  and  we  must 
play  ^Follow  the  Leader^  every  day. 
Mother,  of  course,  will  be  the  leader.  It  will 
be  lots  of  fun." 

The  fawns  waggled  their  ears  in  delight. 

"Now  listen,  both  of  you,"  said  Fleet 
Foot.  "TMs  means  danger!  Follow  me!" 
And  she  stamped  her  foot  three  times  and 
whistled,  as  she  leaped  away  through  the 
bushes. 

"Just  watch  my  white  flag,  and  you  11 
know  where  to  follow,"  she  called;  and  she 
showed  them  how,  when  she  ran,  she  held 
the  white  lining  of  her  tail  straight  up  to 
show  which  way  she  had  gone.    This  was  be- 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     3 

cause  her  brown  back  might  not  show  be- 
tween the  tree-trunks. 

**And  when  I  give  the  danger  signal,  you 
must  give  it,  too,  to  warn  the  others,"  she 
added,  leaping  back  to  their  side. 

*'What  others?"  asked  the  tinier  fawn. 

**Any  deer  within  ear-shot.  That  is  how 
we  help  each  other.  And  remember — obey 
on  the  instant!    It  is  the  only  safe  way!" 

Suddenly  she  gave  the  danger  signal ! 

This  time  it  was  in  real  alarm,  for  she  had 
spied  a  black  snake  wiggling  toward  them. 
The  fawns  bounded  after  her,  just  in  time 
to  escape  the  ugly  fellow.  And,  because 
woods  babies  learn  quickly  they  remembered 
to  give  their  own  tiny  stamp  and  whistle, 
their  own  wee  white  flags  wig-wagging  be- 
hind them.  Fleet  Foot  could  have  killed  the 
snake  with  her  sharp  fore  hoof,  but  a  deer's 
long  legs  are  better  suited  to  running  away 
when  danger  is  near. 

The  next  day  she  taught  them  to  leap  ex- 
actly in  her  foot-prints.  She  took  short 
steps,  so  that  it  would  be  easy  for  them. 
Great  skill  and  experience  is  needed  for  a 


4    ADVENTUEES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

deer  to  know  where  and  how  to  put  Ms  feet 
down  when  he  makes  those  great  leaps  of  his. 
He  may  land,  now  among  the  rocks,  now  in 
marshy  ground,  slipping  over  mosses  and 
scrambling  over  tree-trunks.  It  would  be 
only  too  easy  to  break  one  of  those  slender 
legs,  and  be  at  the  mercy  of  his  enemies. 

By  the  time  the  fawns  were  six  weeks  old, 
they  had  learned  just  how  to  land  without 
stumbling  and  hurting  their  frail  ankles. 
Then,  one  day,  young  Frisky  Fox,  hiding  at 
the  edge  of  the  clearing,  saw  a  strange  sight. 
In  fact,  he  thought  he  had  never  seen  any- 
thing quite  so  odd  in  all  his  life. 

Down  four  little  trails  from  the  hill-top 
came  four  does.  Fleet  Foot  among  the  mmi- 
ber.  And  close  behind  each  doe  came  her 
two  fawns.  Then  a  fifth  mother  came  from 
the  other  side  of  the  meadow.  She  had  only 
one  baby  with  her. 

It  was  to  be  a  sort  of  party.  But  the  fawns 
were  most  unwilling  to  get  acquainted,  as 
their  mothers  intended  them  to  do.  The 
baby  bucks  made  at  each  other  with  heads 
lowered,  ready  to  fight.     The  infant  does 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     5 

backed  timidly  away  to  the  edge  of  the 
meadow.  But  their  mothers  insisted,  with 
gentle  shakings  of  their  heads  and  shovings 
of  their  velvet  noses. 

They  were  pretty  creatures,  these  baby 
deer,  with  their  soft  orange-brown  coats 
spotted  with  white,  and  their  great  innocent 
brown  eyes !  Everything  about  them,  from 
their  slender  legs  to  their  swinging  stride, 
was  graceful. 

Now  the  mothers  formed  in  line,  the  little 
ones  trailing  along  behind  them.  *'Ah!" 
thought  Frisky  Fox,  **a  game  of  'Follow  the 
Leader','^  He  and  his  brothers  had  often 
played  it  with  Father  and  Mother  Red  Fox. 

At  first  the  does  ran  slowly  around  the 
clearing,  then  they  quickened  their  pace,  the 
little  ones  trying  their  best  to  keep  up. 

Suddenly  Fleet  Foot,  who  was  in  the  lead, 
leaped  over  a  fallen  log  at  the  edge  of  the 
glade  and  off  into  the  wood-land.  The  other 
does  followed.  Then  came  Fleet  Foot's 
youngest.  This  little  scamp  only  ran  around 
the  log,  while  her  brother  crawled  under. 

But  that  was  not  what  Fleet  Foot  wanted. 


6     ADVENTUEBS  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

She  came  back,  stamping  her  foot  for  atten- 
tion. 

**Do  just  as  I  do!''  she  insisted.  **Now 
come  back  and  try  it  over  again."  And  she 
trotted  out  into  the  glade,  and  circled  around 
it,  the  tinier  fawn  close  at  her  heels,  till  she 
came  to  the  log  again. 

^^Now!"  she  stamped,  taking  the  leap  once 
more.  The  fawn  followed  till  she  came  to 
the  log,  then  stopped  short,  with  her  nose 
against  it.  Fleet  Foot  hurdled  back,  and 
coming  up  behind,  butted  the  youngster 
with  her  head  till  the  fawn  tried  to  jump. 
This  time  the  little  creature  went  over,  as 
light  as  a  bit  of  thistle-down — ^probably 
much  to  her  own  surprise. 

Then  Fleet  Foot  turned  to  the  larger 
fawn.  *  ^  Come,  now,  there 's  nothing  like  try- 
ing, ' '  she  urged.  But  he  only  gave  a  ba-a-ah ! 
and  wriggled  under  the  tree-trunk  again. 

* '  Follow  me, ' '  his  mother  bade  him.  First 
she  led  him  several  times  around  the  glade. 
*'Now!"  she  stamped,  leaping  the  log  once 
more.  This  time  he  followed  without  stop- 
ping to  think  about  it. 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     7 

The  other  fawns  behaved  much  the  same 
way,  but  at  last  their  mothers  had  them  all 
in  line.  Then  what  a  race  they  had  I  First 
around  and  around  the  opening,  faster  and 
faster  and  faster.  Then,  without  warning, 
across  the  log  and  back  again,  till  every  in- 
fant buck  and  doe  of  them  could  do  it  per- 
fectly. 

'*Um!"  sniffed  Frisky  Fox.  "Wouldn't 
one  of  those  little  fellows  make  good  eating? 
I'd  certainly  like  to  try  it!"  For  the  smell 
of  venison  that  blew  to  his  nostrils  on  the 
breeze  fairly  made  his  mouth  water. 

But  Frisky  was  too  wise  a  pup  to  think 
for  an  instant  he  could  catch  one.  And  so  he 
finally  trotted  off  to  stay  his  appetite  with 
field  mice.  But  he  told  Father  Eed  Fox 
about  it  that  night  in  the  den  on  the  hillside, 
and  the  older  fox  made  up  his  mind  that  next 
day  he  would  be  the  one  to  watch  when  the 
fawns  came  to  the  meadow.  If  he  couldn't 
catch  one,  at  least  he  liked  to  know  all  that 
went  on  in  the  woods.  One  never  knew  when 
an  odd  bit  of  knowledge  might  come  in  handy 
to  a  fellow  that  lives  by  his  wits. 


8     ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

That  day  the  fawns  were  being  drilled  to 
run  around  and  around  in  circles.  They 
made  a  track  like  a  figure  8,  only  with  three 
loops  instead  of  two.  Sometimes  one  of  the 
little  fellows  would  slip  and  stumble. 

'^I  have  it"  Father  Red  Fox  told  himself. 
'*The  fawns  are  learning  to  make  a  quick 
turn.  Because  they'd  break  their  legs  if 
they  were  to  stumble  that  way  in  the  under- 
brush." 

The  old  fox  knew  that  he  could  never 
catch  one  by  the  usual  methods.  He  did 
wonder,  though,  if  he  might  not  corner  one 
by  trickery.  So,  gliding  from  tree-trunk  to 
tree-trunk,  he  crept  nearer  the  unsuspecting 
little  school,  keeping  always  on  the  side 
where  the  wind  could  tell  no  tales ! 


CHAPTER  IL 

A  FOXY  TRICK. 

Now  it  was  chiefly  in  a  spirit  of  mischief 
that  Father  Eed  Fox  decided  to  chase  the 
fawns.  To  tell  the  truth,  the  old  fellow  was 
proud  of  his  wits;  and  though  he  knew  he 
could  not  hope  to  catch  them  and  bring  them 
down  by  a  straightaway  race,  he  thought  he 
might  use  some  trickery  on  them. 

So,  he  watched  and  waited  till  he  should 
find  them  alone.  After  an  hour  or  more  in 
the  racing  meadow,  Fleet  Foot  called  to  her 
little  ones  with  a  **He-eu"  and  a  stamp  of 
her  little  fore  hoof,  and  led  them  back  to 
Lone  Lake,  where  they  all  waded  out  after 
their  supper  of  lily  pads.  Every  minute  of 
the  time  Father  Red  Fox  was  right  behind, 
but  always  with  the  wind  in  his  face,  so  that 

9 


10    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

she  wouldn't  catch  his  musky  scent  on  the 
breeze  with  that  wonderful  nose  of  hers. 

Now  Father  Eed  Fox  knew  one  thing 
about  Fleet  Foot,  the  doe.  He  knew  that 
when  she  heard  a  sound  that  alarmed  her, 
she  always  ran  straight  away  from  the 
sound,  without  once  stopping  to  see  what 
made  it.  No  sooner,  therefore,  was  she  neck- 
deep  in  Lone  Lake,  with  her  back  to  the 
shore,  than  he  cracked  a  twig  behind 
her. 

The  doe,  hearing  that,  supposed  of  course 
it  must  be  Old  Man  Lynx,  at  least,  or  per- 
haps a  big  black  bear,  as  nothing  so  small 
and  dainty  as  a  fox  ever  made  a  sound  like 
that. 

She  was  terribly  frightened,  and  whis- 
tling the  fawns  to  follow,  she  swam  straight 
across  the  Lake,  never  once  stopping  for 
breath  till  they  scrambled  up  the  opposite 
bank. 

But  Father  Eed  Fox  had  raced  around 
the  upper  end  of  the  Lake,  just  far  enough 
back  in  the  woods  so  that  she  couldn't  see 
him.    And  the  instant  the  tired  little  family 


ADVENTUEES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     11 

planted  their  hoofs  on  dry  ground,  Red  Fox, 
hiding  behind  a  boulder,  cracked  an  even 
larger  twig,  and  made  them  think  there  was 
another  bear  on  that  side  of  the  Lake. 

So  she  had  to  lead  them  back  across  the 
Lake  again,  to  the  third  line  of  shore.  But 
Father  Red  Fox  was  there  before  her  and 
cracked  another  twig  to  make  her  think 
there  was  a  bear  on  that  side,  too. 

This  time  the  fawns  were  fairly  gasping 
for  breath,  their  little  spotted  sides  heaving 
painfully  and  their  big  eyes  round  with 
fright.  But  there  was  no  help  for  it ;  Fleet 
Foot  had  to  make  them  swim  back  across  the 
Lake  to  the  fourth  bank,  where  she  hoped  to 
get  into  the  woods  before  the  three  bears 
could  catch  her.  She  was  quite  worn  out, 
herself,  by  now,  and  it  was  only  the  fear  of 
death  that  kept  her  in  the  race  at  all.  But 
finally  up  the  bank  she  stumbled,  and  on 
down  a  forest  trail,  her  fawns  following 
desperately. 

Father  Red  Fox  laughed  as  he  ran 
around  the  Lake.  They  were  all  so  worn 
out  that  it  should  be  an  easy  matter  to  cor- 


12    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

ner  them.  In  fact,  that  wicked  fellow 
had  one  of  the  meanest  plans  in  his  black 
heart  that  ever  deserved  the  name  of  a  foxy 
trick.    And  so  far  it  had  worked. 

Fleet  Foot,  believing  she  had  nothing  less 
than  a  bear  on  her  trail,  raced  on  and  on  till 
her  flanks  dripped  foam  and  her  legs  felt 
weak  and  wobbly — ^which  was  just  what  the 
old  fox  intended.  On  he  raced  after  her, 
knowing  she  wouldn't  stop  even  to  turn  her 
head. 

Then,  suddenly,  he  made  a  short  cut  in 
the  trail  and  headed  her  straight  toward  a 
brush  heap.  The  tired  doe  drew  her  trem- 
bling legs  together  for  the  leap  that  would 
carry  her  over  in  safety.  But  there  was  not 
quite  enough  spring  left  in  those  delicate 
hind  quarters.  She  came  down  too  soon, 
catching  one  of  her  slim  feet  in  the  brush. 
It  broke  her  leg. 

Ah,  but  Red  Fox  had  hoped  it  would  be 
one  of  the  fawns.  Fleet  Foot  he  dared  not 
approach,  because  she  could  strike  him  with 
her  sharp  fore  hoofs,  and  punish  him  se- 
verely.   In  fact,  had  she  known  it  was  only 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     13 

a  fox  behind  her,  she  would  have  stopped  to 
face  him  long  ago. 

The  fawns — little  rascals  that  they  were — 
had  not  tried  to  leap  the  brush  heap;  they 
had  left  the  trail  and  gone  around  it,  hiding 
— ^when  their  mother  fell — ^by  crawling  un- 
der a  juniper  bush.  And  there  they  waited, 
without  so  much  as  waggling  an  ear,  till  Red 
Fox  had  given  up  his  quest  in  disgust  and 
trotted  away  home. 

But  their  troubles  were  not  ended.  For 
one  thing,  they  were  hungry.  Besides,  what 
was  Fleet  Foot  to  do,  helpless  there  where  a 
real  bear  might  find  her? 

Just  then  they  heard  a  cow-bell. 

Clover  Blossom,  the  soft-eyed  Jersey  at 
the  Valley  Farm,  must  have  found  a  broken 
place  in  the  pasture  fence,  and  wandered  in- 
to the  woods  again.  She  loved  to  go  explor- 
ing. 

This  time  she  gave  the  Boy  a  chase.  Here 
it  was,  nearly  dark  I  Straining  his  ears  to 
catch  the  sound,  he  decided  he  must  creep 
very  softly  upon  her,  or  she  would  never  let 
him  catch  her. 


14    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

The  Boy,  however,  was  not  the  only  one 
to  hear  the  tinkle  of  the  cowbell.  Though 
Clover  Blossom  grazed  quite  unaware  that 
she  was  being  watched,  as  an  actual  fact  she 
had  quite  an  audience  of  wood  folk  around 
her,  peering  and  sniffing  and  studying  the 
situation.  Softly,  silently,  creeping  through 
the  hazel  copse,  came  Frisky,  the  fox  pup, 
as  curious  as  his  nose  was  long.  Then  came 
Bobby,  Madame  Lynx's  kitten,  to  whose  nos- 
trils the  odor  was  most  tempting,  though  he 
did  not  dare  attack  an  animal  so  large. 
Crouched  flat  along  a  low-hanging  branch,  he 
peered  and  peered  with  his  narrow  gold- 
green  eyes,  his  claws  working  nervously  in- 
to the  bark. 

Came  also  TJnk  Wunk,  the  Porcupine,  rat- 
tling his  slow  way  up  a  beech  tree  from 
whose  top  he  could  see  all  that  was  going 
on.  He,  too,  watched  curiously  as  the  Jersey 
wandered  from  one  huckleberry  bush  to 
another,  lowing  faintly  now  and  then  as  she 
realized  that  she  needed  to  be  milked. 

But  the  two  who  were  most  interested  as 
she  came  their  way  were  the  hungry  fawns. 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    15 

They  had  waited  hours  for  the  familiar 
stamp  of  their  mother's  foot  that  should 
call  them  to  her,  and  for  the  warm  milk  that 
had  never  failed  them  when  they  needed  it, 
and  their  little  stomachs  ached  worse  and 
worse. 

The  hot  sun  had  crept  across  the  sky,  and 
the  birds  who  had  chirped  and  warbled  over 
their  breakfast  had  come  out  again  for  the 
cool  of  the  late  afternoon  to  chatter  over 
their  worms.  Then  the  sun  had  grown  large 
and  red  in  the  west,  and  the  crickets  had 
begun  to  chirp,  and  the  white-footed  deer 
mice  to  scuttle  through  the  leaves  in  search 
of  beetles.  Finally  the  shadows  had  grown 
long  and  black,  and  the  woods  full  of  a 
breathing  silence,  and  still  they  waited  for 
their  mother  to  come  and  feed  them. 

Then,  at  last,  they  crept  to  where  Clover 
Blossom  mooed  her  invitation  for  some 
one  to  relieve  her  udders  of  their  creamy 
burden.  And  when  the  Boy  finally  peered 
through  the  bushes  beyond  which  she  stood, 
he  stopped  amazed.  For  there  on  either  side 
of  her  a  tiny  fawn  stood  nursing  1 


16    ADVENTUEES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

*' Something  must  have  happened  to  their 
mother,"  he  told  himself.  *'I  wonder  if  I 
could  coax  them  to  go  home  with  Clover 
Blossom?'' 

Then  he  heard  a  rustle  behind  him.  Bobby 
Lynx  was  slinking  home.  (He  was  ever  a 
coward  where  human  beings  were  con- 
cerned.) The  next  instant  the  boy  spied 
Fleet  Foot,  lying  helpless  in  the  brush  heap. 

In  her  exhaustion  after  the  chase,  the  pain 
of  her  broken  leg,  and  her  terror,  as  she  lis- 
tened, hour  after  hour,  for  the  coming  of 
stealthy  padded  feet,  she  had  been  too  weak 
to  struggle.    Then  had  come  a  kindly  stupor. 

The  Boy  set  about  applying  such  first  aid 
as  he  had  at  his  command.  First  knotting 
her  fore  feet  together  with  his  handkerchief 
so  that  she  could  not  struggle,  he  searched 
until  he  found  a  cedar  sapling  very  nearly 
the  size  of  the  leg  that  was  broken.  With  his 
jack-knife  he  made  two  length-wise  slits  and 
removed  the  bark  in  two  pieces,  as  nearly  the 
same  size  as  he  could  make  them.  They  were 
just  long  enough  to  reach  below  the  foot  of 
the  deer  and  above  the  knee. 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    17 

These  he  lined  comfortably  with  dry  moss 
and  cnunpled  grass,  for  he  was  going  to  be 
as  tender  of  the  doe  as  he  would  be  of  a  per- 
son. Next  he  tore  his  shirt,  which  was  an 
old  one,  into  bandages  the  width  of  his  wrist, 
knotting  their  ends  together.  For  splints  he 
went  down  to  Lone  Lake  and  gathered  a 
bundle  of  good  strong  rushes. 

But  when  he  tried  to  set  the  bone,  Fleet 
Foot  struggled  so  that  he  had  to  run  home 
for  his  father. 

The  Valley  Farmer  was  a  man  who  could 
not  see  any  creature  suffer,  so  he  came 
straight  back  with  his  son.  Lifting  her  to 
the  ground,  the  farmer  braced  himself  and 
held  the  injured  leg  while  the  Boy  gently 
but  firmly  grasped  it  with  one  hand  above 
the  fracture  and  one  below.  My!  How  it 
must  have  hurt!  But  his  practised  fingers 
pulled  the  two  pieces  of  bone  in  opposite 
directions  till  he  got  them  end  to  end !  Fleet 
Foot  tried  hard  to  struggle  free,  for  of 
course  she  did  not  understand.  But  she  was 
helpless.  Then  the  Boy  worked  the  bones, 
ever  so  gently,  till  a  slight  thud  announced 


18    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

to  Ms  listening  ear  that  they  had  fitted 
together  right.  Next,  he  applied  the  padded 
halves  of  the  cedar  bark,  which — as  he  had 
intended — did  not  reach  quite  around  the 
leg.  For,  in  this  way,  he  could  tie  them  more 
firmly,  as  he  bandaged  them  immovably  in 
place  with  the  strips  of  his  torn  shirt. 

'* There  I"  the  Farmer  sighed  at  last. 
"That  ought  to  heal.  I  don't  see  why  a  few 
weeks  of  rest  and  good  feeding  ought  not 
to  set  her  on  her  feet  again.  But  we'll  have 
to  make  a  litter  to  take  her  home." 


CHAPTER  III. 

AT  THE  VALLEY  FARM. 

Now  that  her  broken  leg  had  been  set  so 
skillfuUy,  Fleet  Foot  felt  better.  And  the 
fawns  were  content  to  get  their  supper  of 
the  Jersey  cow. 

But  the  Boy  and  his  father  had  to  face 
the  problem  of  getting  them  all  back  to  the 
Valley  Farm. 

**How  can  we  make  a  litter?"  asked  the 
Boy,  who  was  not  so  skilled  in  wood-craft 
as  the  Farmer. 

** First,  find  two  good  long  poles,"  his 
father  directed.  **I  wish  we'd  brought  an 
axe,  but  perhaps  you  can  manage  with  your 
jack-knife."  And  under  his  direction  the 
Boy  found  what  he  needed.  Next  they 
peeled  the  bark  from  a  chestnut  tree,  and  on 

19 


20    ADVENTUEES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

this  they  arranged  a  mattress  of  dried  moss, 
then  tied  it  firmly  between  the  two  long 
poles.  Stretching  this  flat  on  the  ground, 
they  laid  Fleet  Foot  on  it  and  carried  her 
home  in  state,  one  of  them  shouldering  either 
end  of  the  litter. 

'*She  ought  to  ride  easy  on  that,"  said  the 
backwoodsman.  But  the  doe  shrank  back 
in  fear  when  the  Boy  tried  laying  his  hand 
caressingly  on  her  velvet  throat.  For  every 
moment  she  expected  they  would  kill  her. 

The  fawns  followed  Clover  Blossom,  and 
finally  they  came  out  into  the  star-lit 
meadow,  where  Fleet  Foot  caught  the  odor 
of  cows  and  sheep  from  the  big  red  barn. 
The  next  thing  she  knew,  she  was  lying  on  a 
mound  of  sweet-smelling  dried  clover,  in  a 
clean  stall  of  that  same  barn,  and  there  was 
a  pail  of  water  beside  her.  She  roused  her- 
self to  drink  feverishly,  standing  on  three 
legs,  but  she  could  not  eat.  Then  followed 
a  few  hours  when  she  slept  despite  her  fears, 
because  she  was  too  tired  to  keep  awake. 

In  the  pink  dawn  she  awoke  at  the  sound 
of  the  milk-pails,  and  her  first  thought  was 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    21 

of  the  fawns.  The  Boy  brought  her  a  hatful 
of  grass;  but  her  great  eyes  only  searched 
wistfully  through  the  woodland  and  meadow 
before  the  open  door,  and  on  to  the  dew-wet 
forest  where  she  thought  they  waited,  and 
she  struggled  weakly  to  get  to  her  feet  and 
go  to  them. 

** She's  worrying  about  her  babies,"  said 
the  Boy.  * '  Can 't  we  show  them  to  her  ?  "  he 
begged  his  father. 

^*The  only  trouble  with  that,"  the  farmer 
replied,  *4s  that,  once  they  get  a  sight  of 
her,  they  won't  have  anything  more  to  do 
with  Clover  Blossom,  and  she's  got  to  take 
care  of  them  till  their  own  mother  is  well 
again.  But  that  leg  will  heal  quickly.  The 
bone  was  broken  in  only  one  place.  We've 
got  to  keep  her  quiet,  though, — and  the 
fawns  are  better  off  where  they  are." 

Thus  several  weeks  went  by,  till  at  last 
Fleet  Foot  was  able  to  trip  daintily  into  the 
pasture  lot.  But  still  she  worried  about  the 
fawns.  She  was  comfortable  and  well  fed,  ' 
and  was  even  becoming  used  to  the  Boy,  who 
brought  her  food  and  water  every  morning 


22    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

and  sometimes  a  few  grains  of  rock  salt. 
Through  the  bars  of  the  open  doorway  she 
could  gaze  straight  into  the  cool  green  woods 
all  day.  Had  it  not  been  for  her  longing  for 
the  fawns,  she  would  have  been  quite  content . 
to  lie  still  and  get  well. 

The  bone  had  set  quickly,  for  her  life  in 
the  open  had  given  her  pure  blood  and  much 
reserve  strength.  But  she  was  anxious  to 
make  her  escape  and  search  for  her  babies. 
Little  did  she  dream,  in  the  confusion  of 
sounds  and  smells  that  filled  the  bam  every 
day,  that  the  pair  actually  came  to  Clover 
Blossom's  stall. 

Meantime,  the  fawns  throve  on  the  Jersey 
milk.  Though  too  shy  to  mingle  with  the 
cows  and  sheep  in  the  pasture  lot,  they 
spent  their  days  in  a  clump  of  alders  down 
by  the  brook. 

"Won't  they  be  happy  when  they  get  their 
own  mother  back  ?"  the  Boy  exclaimed  to  his 
father  one  evening. 

The  Father  looked  at  his  son  in  a  puzzled 
way. 

**The    doe    has    disappeared,"    he    an- 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    23 

nounced.  **I  had  just  taken  the  splints  off 
her  leg.  It  was  healed  as  good  as  new. 
Thought  I'd  turn  her  loose  in  the  pasture  to 
limber  up  a  bit,  when — ^would  you  believe 
it? — she  leaped  clean  over  that  fence,  and 
off  into  the  woods  out  of  sight." 

* '  Honestly  ? ' '  exclaimed  the  Boy.  *  *  With- 
out so  much  as  a  thank  you !  And  what  will 
become  of  her  now?" 

**0h,  she'll  be  all  right.  But  isn't  it  a 
shame  now  we  didn't  let  her  have  her 
fawns?" 

**  Perhaps  we  can  keep  them  ourselves,  *' 
ventured  the  Boy  wistfully,  for  he  loved 
pets.  *'We  could  tame  them  and  let  them 
grow  up  with  the  cows.  They're  half  tame 
already." 

**I  don't  believe  a  wild  thing  is  ever  really 
happy  that  way,"  mused  the  Farmer.  **Do 
you?" 

**No,  perhaps  not,"  decided  the  Boy. 
"And  besides,  their  mother  will  break  her 
heart  if  she  never  finds  them  again." 

''She'll  feel  badly,  of  course.  But  don't 
you  see,  the  fawns  will  take  to  the  woods 


24    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

again,  sooner  or  later,  unless  we  keep  them 
tied  all  the  time.  And  then  do  you  know 
what  would  happen!  They  wouldn't  know 
how  to  take  care  of  themselves,  without  their 
mother's  training." 

'^ Oh, "said  the  Boy.  **And  some  hungry 
animal  might  catch  them  for  its  dinner  1" 

' '  I  'm  afraid  so, ' '  agreed  the  Farmer.  *  *  It 
is  always  the  young  animals  that  have  lost 
their  mothers  that  get  caught." 

**Say,  I've  noticed  a  funny  thing,"  said 
the  Boy,  a  few  days  later.  **  Clover  Blossom 
has  been  giving  more  milk  lately,  and  yet 
the  fawns  aren't  weaned." 

"You  didn't  see  what  I  saw  last  night/* 
said  the  Farmer,  smiling*  And  he  told  the 
Boy  where  to  watch. 

Meantime  what  had  become  of  Fleet  Foot? 
First  she  leaped  the  fence,  and  took  to  the 
trail  down  which  Clover  Blossom  had  wan- 
dered— ^here  over  the  smooth  pine  needles, 
there  through  the  crackling  oak  leaves,  and 
yonder  over  a  fallen  log.  And  as  she  went, 
she  nibbled  course  after  course  of  the 
dainties  of  the  woodland. 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    25 

How  fit  she  felt,  after  her  long  imprison- 
ment! How  swift  her  slender  hoofs,  how 
strong  her  long  hind  legs  that  could  send 
her  over  a  hazel  copse  like  steel  springs! 
And  how  good  it  was  to  be  alive  in  a  world 
all  sunshine  and  dancing  butterflies  and 
tinkling  streams! 

But  where  were  her  fawns  ?  She  searched 
and  searched  for  some  sign  of  the  little  fel- 
lows. But  she  searched  in  vain.  And  all 
the  joy  went  out  of  life  again. 
,  Then,  one  evening,  as  she  stood  on  a  hill- 
top watching  the  Boy  drive  the  cows  home 
from  pasture,  she  saw  something  that  made 
her  lonely  heart  beat  high  with  hope.  She 
couldn't  make  out  the  little  spotted  coats  so 
far  away,  but  she  did  see  their  red-brown 
outlines,  so  tiny  beside  the  cows,  and  the 
furtive  way  they  shied  along,  as  if  they 
never  could  get  used  to  coming  right  out  in 
the  open.  And  her  anxious  mother-heart 
assured  her  that  they  were  worth  a  closer 
view. 

So,  the  next  night,  before  they  turned  off 
the  lane  to  the  pasture  lot,  the  fawns  heard 


26    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

the  little  stamp  that  had  always  been  their 
mother's  signal.  *^  Wait  where  you  are — and 
hide!"  she  bade  them  with  her  whistled 
*'Hiew!"  *^I  will  come  to  you." 

And  they  obeyed,  thrilling  with  a  great 
wave  of  homesick  longing  for  the  mother 
they  had  thought  lost  to  them.  The  Boy, 
tip-toeing  back  to  see  what  had  become  of 
his  pets,  found  the  doe  in  the  pasture  lot, 
nursing  her  fawns. 

And  though  he  did  not  know  it,  she  stayed 
with  them  until  the  first  gray  light  in  the 
east  warned  her  that  she  must  leave  them 
for  the  day.  For  the  fence  was  too  high  for 
the  fawns  to  leap. 

The  next  night  the  Boy  watched  again, 
from  the  cover  of  the  hay-stack.  Before 
long  the  doe  leaped  smoothly  into  the  pas- 
ture, stamping  for  the  fawns.  Then  he  saw 
the  flash  of  her  white  tail  signaling  for  them 
to  follow,  and  after  that,  two  tinier  tails  wig- 
wagging through  the  dusk  as  they  disap- 
peared in  the  alders  down  by  the  brook  that 
ran  through  the  lower  end  of  the  pasture. 

The  Boy  stared  after  them  awhile,  a  smile 


V 

ADVENTTJEES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    27 

of  sympathy  in  his  eyes.     Then — ever  so 
softly,  so  as  not  to  alarm  them — ^he  slipped 
across  to  where  she  had  leaped  the  fence, 
and  lifted  the  top  bars  away. 
The  next  morning  the  fawns  were  gone  I 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  KOUND-UP. 

Once  back  in  the  good  green  woods,  both 
Fleet  Foot  and  the  fawns  capered  joyously. 

It  was  good  just  to  be  alive. 

Up  and  down  through  the  forest  trails 
they  galloped, — down  to  Lone  Lake,  then 
back  to  PoUywog  Pond  and  along  the 
familiar  trails  on  the  slopes  of  Mt.  Olaf. 
Summer  was  even  riper  and  lovelier  than 
when  they  had  been  taken  to  the  Valley 
Farm, — and  to  the  fawns,  remember,  it  was 
their  first  taste  of  mid-summer  in  the  Maine 
woods. 

These  tiny  fellows  leaped  and  gamboled 
and  cavorted,  and  raced,  and  played  hide- 

28 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     29 

and-seek,  till  you  would  have  thought  they 
would  have  broken  their  fragile  legs  among 
the  boulders  and  fallen  tree-trunks.  But 
their  mother  knew  her  training  had  been 
thorough,  and  they  would  know  just  how  to 
leap  and  land  with  safety. 

** Hello,  there! — Chick-a-dee-dee,  Chiek-a- 
dee-dee,"  a  little  gray  bird  in  a  black  cap 
kept  calling,  as  he  followed  from  tree  to 
tree. 

When  at  last  they  had  had  their  dinner 
of  warm  milk,  and  Fleet  Foot  had  cropped 
her  fill  of  the  tender  green  things  that  lay 
like  a  banquet  table  everywhere  about  them, 
she  led  them  to  a  little  rocky  ledge  that  over- 
looked Lone  Lake,  where  they  could  lie 
under  the  partial  shade  of  a  clump  of  yellow 
birch  trees  and  rest,  while  she  chewed  her 
cud.  The  black  fly  season  was  well  past,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  disturb  them  save  a 
passing  swarm  of  midges  that  couldn't 
begin  to  bite  through  their  thick  fur. 

(They  little  dreamed  that  Frisky,  the  Red 
Fox  Pup,  was  peering  down  on  them  from 
a  higher  crag,  where  he,  too,  crouched  on  the 


30    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

red-brown  soil  that  proved  such  a  perfect 
cam-ou-flage.) 

No  one  save  a  fox  could  have  seen  the 
fawns,  so  long  as  they  lay  still,  their  tawny 
orange-brown  coats  blended  so  perfectly 
with  the  ground.  And  if  anyone  had  noticed 
the  white  spots  on  their  sides,  he  would  have 
taken  them  for  a  glint  of  the  creamy  birch- 
bark. 

At  first  the  two  youngsters  watched  a 
yellow- jacketed  bumble-bee,  who  bumbled 
and  tumbled  among  the  perfumed  spikes  of 
the  Solomon's  seals.  Then  their  ears 
pricked  to  a  new  voice. 

^^ Greetings,  my  friends!"  called  a  cheery 
red-brown  coated  bird  who  had  been  rustling 
about  among  the  dead  leaves  just  behind 
them. 

He  was  as  large  as  a  robin,  with  even 
longer  beak  and  tail,  and  his  creamy  breast 
was  streaked  with  darker  brown. 

''Hello,  Thrush,"  bleated  the  fawns  in 
shy  friendliness. 

''You  mustn't  look  for  any  nest  in  the 
bushes  around  here,  because  you  won't  find 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    31 

it,"  twittered  Thrush,  in  a  tone  Old  Man 
Eed  Fox  would  have  been  suspicious  of. 
*' Listen!  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  concert  1" 
And  he  flew  to  the  birch  tree  over  their 
heads. 

There  followed  a  program  of  the  most 
varied  trills  and  whistles  the  fawns  had  ever 
heard ;  and  though  his  voice  was  not  so  sweet 
toned  as  some  of  the  tinier  birds',  his  throaty- 
trills  and  liquid,  low-pitched  chirps  and 
whistles  were  just  as  delightful  as  they 
could  be. 

There  were  bird  calls  all  around  them, 
'*Pee-wees"  and  ** Chip-chip-chips"  and 
** Wee-wee-wee-wees"  and  all  sorts  of  soft 
little  calls  and  answers. 

They  none  of  them  minded  the  fawns  in 
the  least,  except  those  who  had  nests  on  the 
ground.  They  always  watched  nervously 
when  the  frisky  fellows  capered  too  near, 
with  their  sharp  little  hoofs,  though  they 
knew  the  fawns  wouldn't  hurt  an  ant  if  they 
knew  it. 

Every  now  and  again  the  singers  would 
cease,  when  one  of  the  soft  patches  of  white 


32    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

cloud  got  in  front  of  the  sun;  for  instantly 
the  air  grew  chilly,  and  a  breeze  started  all 
the  tree-tops  to  waving  till  the  birds  had  to 
hang  on  hard. 

Then  the  Lake  would  ruffle  into  tiny  wave- 
lets and  grow  dark  green  like  the  woods 
along  the  shore-line.  For  before,  the  water 
had  lain  as  still  as  a  silver  mirror,  reflecting 
the  pale  blue  of  the  warm  sky. 

In  weather  like  this,  it  was  good  just  to 
lie  still  and  watch  and  listen,  or  drowse  off 
with  the  sun  warm  on  one 's  fur  and  the  spicy 
earth  smells  in  one's  nostrils.  The  green 
world  was  so  interesting. 

When  a  passing  cloud  of  a  darker  gray 
brought  the  big  drops  pattering  about  them 
for  a  few  minutes,  they  merely  scampered 
under  an  over-hanging  boulder,  where  they 
huddled  together  on  a  drift  of  leaves,  and 
watched  it  all. 

Later,  when  the  buU-frogs  began  their 
^'Ke-dunk,  ke-dunk,"  down  under  the  banks 
of  Lone  Lake,  where  the  ducks  were  feed- 
ing their  nestlings,  and  the  sun  began  to 
send  long  red  beams  slanting  through  the 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    33 

tree-trunks,  Fleet  Foot  led  them  down  to  a 
shallow  cove  for  a  taste  of  lily  pads,  and 
they  waded  in  and  tried  a  nibble  of  every- 
thing she  tasted 

After  that  came  a  night  under  a  drooping 
pine  tree,  whose  lowest  branch  roofed  over 
a  boulder  in  the  most  inviting  way,  and  the 
wind  droned  through  the  branches  and  blew 
the  mosquitoes  all  away,  and  they  lay 
snuggled  warmly  together  on  the  fragrant 
needles,  and  watched  the  stars  come  out. 

In  the  morning  they  were  just  starting 
out  on  an  exploring  tour  when  they  were 
alarmed  by  the  baying  of  a  hound. 

Now  Lop  Ear  had  always  had  an  impor- 
tant duty  at  the  Valley  Farm.  It  had  been 
his  part  to  round  up  the  cows  when  night 
came,  or  when  any  of  them  went  astray  in 
the  woods.  And  all  day  yesterday  he  had 
missed  Fleet  Foot  from  her  stall  in  the  hay- 
bam. 

True,  she  had  always  seemed  different 
from  the  regular  cows.  Until  she  came  there 
with  her  broken  leg,  he  had  always  supposed 
she  belonged  in  the  woods.     But  surely, 


34    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

surely  the  Farmer  would  not  have  kept  her 
there  unless  she  belonged  there,  reasoned  the. 
faithful  dog.    And  now  she  was  gone! 

There  was  but  one  thing  to  do :  he  must  go 
in  search  of  her  and  bring  her  home. 

All  that  day  he  tried  in  vain  to  find  her 
trail.  The  next  morning  he  was  up  with  the 
sun.  This  time  he  would  search  farther 
afield.  ''Wow!  Bow-wow!  Wow-wow- 
wow!"  Here  was  a  foot-print,  unless  his 
nose  deceived  him!  What's  more,  they  had 
passed  that  way  not  ten  minutes  since!  It 
was  but  a  matter  of  following  the  trail,  and 
he  would  be  nipping  at  their  heels  and  driv- 
ing them  back  to  the  Farm. 

** Wow-wow-wow!"  he  bayed;  and  Frisky, 
the  Red  Fox  Pup,  heard  and  came  trotting 
to  peek  at  him  and  see  what  it  was  all  about. 

The  sound  filled  the  fawns  with  uneasiness. 
They  had  always  been  afraid  of  Lop  Ear, 
with  his  nipping  and  yapping  around  the 
cattle. 

"Children,"  bade  Fleet  Foot  sternly, 
"hurry  to  that  clump  of  bracken  and  lie 
down.    Stretch  your  heads  and  fore  legs  out 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     35 

straight  in  front  of  you  and  lie  there  as  flat 
as  you  can  make  yourselves, — ^while  I  lead 
this  hound  off  somewhere  where  he'll  lose 
your  scent/' 

The  fawns  obeyed  instantly. 

Fleet  Foot  then  doubled  back  on  her  trail, 
and  with  a  stamp  and  a  snort  to  call  the 
hound's  attention,  she  soon  had  him  follow- 
ing her  great  bounds  in  quite  the  opposite 
direction.  She  kept  just  far  enough  ahead 
of  him  to  make  sure  he  wouldn't  give  up 
the  chase — ^though  she  could  easily  have  out- 
distanced him. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  SON  OF  THE  WILD. 

Now  Frisky,  the  Eed  Fox  Pup,  admired 
no  one  so  much  as  he  did  his  father.  And 
he  had  heard  his  father  tell  how  he  had 
chased  the  doe  and  her  fawns  that  dreadful 
day  when  Fleet  Foot  broke  her  leg. 

Not  that  the  little  rascal  really  wanted  to 
hurt  those  gentle  soft-eyed  babies.  He 
wasn't  hungry,  and  besides,  he  couldn't  have 
killed  them  had  he  wanted  to.  He  just 
thought  it  would  be  fun  to  play  that  he  was 
Father  Red  Fox  and  give  them  a  good  scare. 
(But  how  were  the  fawns  to  know  that?) 
In  other  words,  like  a  great  many  very 
young  persons,  he  didn't  stop  to  think  of 
the  other  fellow's  point  of  view  in  the 
matter. 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    37 

Thus,  no  sooner  had  he  seen  Fleet  Foot 
headed  in  the  other  direction,  leaving  the 
fawns  unprotected,  than  he  pranced  merrily 
up  to  them,  his  yellow  eyes  gleaming  with 
mischief. 

**  Yip,  yip ! ''  he  yelled  at  them  in  his  high- 
pitched  little  voice. 

Now  the  fawns  had  been  told  to  lie  still. 
But  how  could  they,  when  danger  was  almost 
upon  them  ?  They  were  certainly  not  going 
to  lie  there  and  let  this  little  wild  dog  bite 
theml 

With  a  bleat  of  alarm  they  sprang  to  their 
feet  and  raced  through  the  brush,  leaping 
over  bush  and  brier  and  boulder  as  if  their 
very  lives  depended  on  it. 

But  Frisky  Fox  could  also  leap  bush  and 
brier  and  boulder.  And  he  came  leaping 
after,  just  two  jumps  behind  them! 

Now  around  a  clump  of  green-briar,  down 
a  trail  of  dainty  pointed  hoof  prints  that  led 
through  brush  head  high, — up  hill,  down  hill 
the  trio  sped,  startling  the  pheasants  and 
sending  them  into  the  air  with  a  whirr. 

Here  the  trail  turned  abruptly  down  the 


38    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

side  of  a  precipice,  and  the  fawns  followed, 
while  Frisky,  having  paused  for  a  moment 
when  his  tail  got  caught  in  a  bramble,  had 
to  come  trotting  after  with  his  nose  to  the 
ground,  as  he  could  no  longer  see  them. 

Now  the  fawns  had  never  been  taught  that 
water  carries  no  scent.  They  just  happened 
to  go  splashing  across  a  bit  of  a  frog  pond 
that  lay  cupped  among  hillocks  of  seedling 
pines.  But  looking  back  at  every  seventh 
leap  or  so,  they  could  see  that  the  fox  pup 
followed  his  nose  to  the  water's  edge,  and 
there  stopped  and  sniffed  all  about  uncer- 
tainly, before  again  catching  a  glimpse  of 
them. 

But  though  the  chase  went  merrily  on 
(that  is,  merrily  on  the  fox's  part),  the 
fawns  had  learned  a  valuable  lesson. 

They  now  made  straight  for  Lone  Lake, 
and  my!  You  should  have  seen  the  ducks 
take  flight  as  these  two  alarming  little  fel- 
lows came  splashing  in  among  them! 

A  deer,  when  pursued  by  hounds,  will 
always  take  to  water  when  he  can,  and  the 
hounds  have  no  scent  to  follow.  Then,  unless 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     39 

there  is  a  hunter  along,  and  he  catches  sight 
of  his  quarry,  and  fires,  the  deer  are  safe. 

The  Red  Fox  Pup  uses  his  eyes,  as 
well  as  his  nose,  and  he  was  so  close  behind, 
and  understood  so  well  this  trick  of  taking 
to  water,  (for  he  escaped  the  hounds  that 
way  himself),  that  he  wasn't  fooled  the  least 
little  bit  in  the  world.   Not  he ! 

Only  once  they  had  taken  the  plunge,  the 
little  fellows  decided  to  swim  out  to  a  reedy 
islet  where  they  could  rest.  And  the  fox  pup 
didn't  think  it  worth  while  to  get  his  fur 
wet.  For  when  his  great  brush  of  a  tail  gets 
wet,  it  is  so  heavy  that  it  weighs  him  down, 
and  he  can't  run  nearly  so  fast,  so  the  mice 
all  get  away. 

Of  course  the  fawns  thought  it  was  all 
their  own  cleverness,  and  you  should  have 
heard  them  telling  Fleet  Foot  about  it  when 
she  found  them  there ! 

The  fawns  never  tired  of  watching  the  life 
that  stirred  everjrwhere  about  them,  their 
great  soft  eyes  filled  with  pleasant  wonder. 

One  day  it  would  be  the  one  soft  cluck 
of  Mother  Grouse  Hen,  calling  to  her  chicks 


40    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

to  hide  before  Frisky  Fox  should  pass  that 
way. 

When  he  had  passed,  looking  so  wise  and 
knowing,  (with  his  bright  eyes  peering  into 
every  nook  and  corner,  and  his  pointed  little 
nose  testing  the  air  for  a  taint).  Mother 
Grouse  Hen  would  give  a  different  sort  of 
cluck ;  and  back  the  frightened  chicks  would 
come  to  her,  and  she  would  gather  them  com- 
fortingly under  her  wings,  pressing  each 
wee  brown  baby  to  her  down-covered  breast 
to  reassure  him. 

Then  she  would  utter  a  soft,  brooding 
cluck  that  told  them  how  she  loved  them,  and 
how  safe  they  yiere  with  Mother  to  look  out 
for  them. 


^^^^f 


CHAPTER   VI. 

A  STRANGE  FRIENDSHIP. 

What  was  the  matter  with  the  hen-roost 
at  the  Valley  Farm,  the  fox  pup  asked  him- 
self? 

He  had  killed  so  many  field  mice  in  the 
course  of  the  summer  that  he  felt  he  was 
really  entitled  to  one  of  the  farmer's  nice  fat 
hens, — ^because  the  mice  might  have  de- 
stroyed the  farmer's  crops,  had  Frisky  not 
prevented. 

At  the  same  time  he  knew  that  Lop  Ear, 
the  hound  at  the  Valley  Farm,  would  have 
another  opinion  in  the  matter. 

Frisky  sat  up  and  thought. 

Lop  Ear  would  give  the  alarm,  and  then, 
even  if  he  threw  the  hound  off  the  scent, 

41 


42    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

there  would  be  men  with  guns,  and  more 
dodging  of  bullets  than  he  cared  to  risk. 
He  had  often  seen  it,  watching  from  his  hill- 
top in  the  woods.  And  he  always  tried  to 
profit  by  other  people's  experience. 

Suddenly  his  bright  eyes  began  to  snap. 
The  very  idea !  He  would  make  friends  with 
Lop  Ear. 

Then  Lop  Ear  might  try  to  be  sound 
asleep  on  the  night  when  Frisky  visited  the 
chicken  coop ;  and  should  the  Hired  Man  get 
out  his  gun,  the  hound  would  surely  lose 
his  trail. 

Thereafter,  for  days  on  end.  Frisky  made 
the  strangest  advances  to  the  dignified  old 
hound,  whenever  the  latter  fared  forth  into 
the  woods  to  catch  him  a  mouse  for  supper. 
It  was  very  much  like  a  puppy  trying  to 
coax  an  old  dog  to  play. 

*^Come  chase  me!"  Frisky  would  invite, 
dancing  ahead  just  out  of  Lop  Ear's  reach. 
Then,  **I'll  chase  you/^  he  would  vary  the 
program.  And  Lop  Ear  (half  unwillingly) 
played  the  role  assigned  him,  till  at  last  he 
came  to  look  on  his  evening  ramble  in  the 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    43 

woods  with  Frisky  as  a  distinct  part  of  his 
day's  pleasuring. 

Not  that  Frisky  ever  came  within  reach 
of  Lop  Ear's  jaws.  No,  indeed  I  That  was 
carrying  the  thing  a  bit  too  far.  But  he 
did  finally  get  the  hound  to  the  point  where 
he  no  longer  considered  it  his  duty  to  try  to 
make  an  end  of  the  young  fox.  And  he 
really  enjoyed  their  games  of  hide  and  seek. 

The  Boy  from  the  Valley  Farm  did  not 
know  what  to  make  of  Lop  Ear's  growing 
fondness  for  solitary  rambles. 

One  night,  when  the  October  moon 
gleamed  cool  and  sparkling  through  the 
fringe  of  fir  trees,  young  Frisky  Fox  might 
have  been  seen  loping  softly  through  the 
corn-field. 

**Who  goes  there?"  bayed  Lop  Ear,  as  he 
leaped  the  barn-yard  fence. 

**Come  and  play,"  coaxed  Frisky.  '*You 
can't  catch  me!"  and  leaping  up  the  sloping 
roof  of  the  hen-house,  he  squeezed  grace- 
fully through  the  barred  window.  A 
moment  more  and  there  was  a  stifled  squawk 


44    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

and  Frisky  squeezed  Ms  way  back  through 
the  bars,  dragging  a  hen  behind  him. 

But  alas  for  the  best  laid  plans. 

** Bow- wow- wow!  You  can't  do  that,  you 
know!"  suddenly  bayed  Lop  Ear.  ** That's 
carrying  the  game  a  little  too  far.  After 
'  all,  I  have  my  duty  to  perform." 

**What  is  it?"  yelled  the  Hired  Man,  pok- 
ing his  head  from  his  sleeping-room  in  the 
barn-loft.  '  *  A  fox,  eh  ?  "  and  he  grabbed  for 
his  gun,  leaning  far  out  to  scan  the  moonlit 
fields. 

Frisky  Fox,  by  keeping  the  shed  between 
himself  and  the  gun,  made  off  through  the 
corn-field  with  the  hen  across  his  shoulder. 

Lop  Ear,  his  warning  uttered,  now  dashed 
madly  in  quite  the  wrong  direction, — for  the 
memory  of  the  fox  pup's  friendship  was 
strong  upon  him.  But  the  Hired  Man  was 
not  to  be  fooled. 

In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  he  was 
out  circling  the  field,  gun  in  hand.  And  the 
bright  moonlight  soon  showed  him  where  the 
cornstalks  rustled  with  Frisky 's  passing. 

"Hi,  there!"  yelled  the  Hired  Man,  gun 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    45 

in  hand,  as  he  raced  around  the  corn-field. 

But  Frisky  was  an  excellent  judge  of  dis- 
tance, and  he  knew  to  a  certainty  that  he 
was  out  of  gun  range. 

He  therefore  deliberately  stopped  where 
he  was  and  snatched  a  bite  of  his  hen. 

As  the  Hired  Man  came  nearer,  the  fox 
pup  ran  farther,  always  keeping  just  about 
so  much  distance  between  himself  and  the 
gun.  He  could  easily  have  out-distanced  his 
pursuer.  But  he  was  in  a  mischievous  mood 
to-night,  and  it  pleased  him  to  see  how  far  he 
could  go  toward  devouring  the  entire  hen 
while  the  angry  man  looked  on. 

He  did  it,  too,  saucily  enough,  gobbling  a 
bite  here  and  a  bite  there,  looking  back  over 
his  shoulder  the  while  at  the  man  with  the 
gun.  One  or  two  shots  did  ring  out  on  the 
crisp  night  air,  kicking  up  the  dirt  a  few 
rods  behind  him,  but  Frisky  Fox  ate  on, 
secure  by  those  few  rods  of  space,  as  well 
he  knew. 

Only  once  did  he  miscalculate,  the  shot 
landing  so  near  him  that  he  knew  the  next 


46    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

one  would  surely  get  him  if  the  Hired  Man 
tried  again. 

Quick  as  a  flash  the  clever  rascal  toppled 
over  on  his  side,  playing  dead.  The  ruse 
worked,  for  the  Hired  Man  did  not  shoot 
again.  And  while  he  was  fumbling  his  way 
through  the  corn-field  to  where  he  believed 
the  fox  lay  waiting,  Frisky  was  making  for 
the  woods  with  his  nimble  black  feet  fairly 
twinkling  over  the  ground. 

Throwing  himself  at  last  on  the  soft  pine 
needles  on  a  little  hill-top,  he  peered  through 
the  moonlight  to  where  the  Hired  Man  was 
staring  helplessly  about  him  wondering 
where  the  dead  fox  lay.  Frisky  laughed 
silently  at  the  success  of  his  ruse, — ^the  first 
time  he  had  ever  played  'possum  himself, 
though  he  had  seen  it  done  once  before,  when 
his  mother  had  been  hard  pressed.  In  her 
case  she  had  actually  let  the  boy  pick  her 
up,  when  he  found  her  with  one  foot  in  a 
trap.  But  to  her  surprise  he  had  only 
released  her  with  pitying  words  and  a  caress 
on  her  silky  red  head. 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    47 

No  such  treatment  could  be  expected  of 
the  Hired  Man,  Frisky  knew. 

Lop  Ear,  slinking  back  to  the  barnyard 
with  tail  between  his  legs,  was  just  unlucky 
enough  to  catch  the  Hired  Man's  notice  as 
the  latter  was  returning  f  oxless. 

*  *  Here, ' '  he  ordered  threateningly.  *  *  Put 
your  nose  to  that  trail  and  follow  it,  or  I'll 
show  you  what's  what!" 

The  next  thing  Frisky  knew,  he  heard  the 
baying  of  his  one-time  friend  close  on  his 
trail.  With  a  yawn  and  a  lick  at  his  jaws, 
where  a  feather  still  clung,  he  struck  off  as 
easily  as  if  he  had  just  arisen  from  a  sound 
night's  sleep. 

He  didn't  even  bother  to  keep  very  far 
ahead  of  the  dog. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


A  WIT  OUT-WITTED 


Not  that  Frisky  Fox  believed  greatly  in 
Lop  Ear's  friendsMp. 

Not  after  the  way  the  hound  had  given 
the  alarm  at  the  chicken  coop ! 

But  he  knew  that  at  any  moment  he  could 
so  far  outdistance  that  doubtful  ally  that  he 
wasn't  in  the  slightest  danger.  The  ground 
was  firm  and  dry,  and  he  had  all  the  advan- 
tage of  his  lighter  weight  and  nimbler  feet. 

Had  there  been  soft  snow  on  the  ground 
it  might  have  been  different.  But  the  first 
frost  had  not  yet  ripened  the  hazel  nuts 
in  the  woods  around  Mt.  Olaf . 

Once,  just  to  punish  him,  Frisky  turned 

48 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    49 

back  and  bared  his  teeth  so  viciously  at  Lop 
Ear  that  the  hound  was  driven  back — to  the 
Hired  Man's  amazement. 

Then  Frisky  tripped  his  way  down  to 
Rapid  River  and  crossed  on  the  wet  brook 
stones,  leaving  no  scent  for  Lop  Ear  to 
follow. 

The  hound  well  off  the  trail,  Frisky  again 
crossed  the  stream  farther  up  on  a  fallen 
log.  And  circling  around  through  the 
shadows,  he  was  soon  following  the  Hired 
Man,  slipping  behind  trees  and  boulders  and 
smiling  from  ear  to  ear  as  the  latter  stum- 
bled along  with  his  useless  gun. 

When  at  last  the  hound  stopped  short  at 
the  river  bank,  where  he  lost  the  scent,  the 
Hired  Man  gave  it  up  in  disgust,  and  went 
back  home  to  his  bed. 

And  Frisky,  the  handsome  little  scoun- 
drel, calmly  sought  out  the  dry  south  side 
of  a  hill  which  would  shelter  him  from  the 
wind  and  slept  with  his  black  legs  doubled 
under  him  and  his  white-tipped  brush  of 
a  tail  curled  comfortably  around  hiTYi  to 
keep  out  the  draft. 


50    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

Shrewd,  cautious,  daring,  the  Red  Pox 
Pup  bade  fair  at  this  stage  of  his  career  to 
develop  the  best  set  of  brains  in  all  the 
North  Woods. 

Yet  there  was  one  at  the  Valley  Parm  that 
could  out-wit  him. 

Prisky  was  sitting  on  his  haunches  a  few 
days  later  in  the  midst  of  the  now  deserted 
hay  field,  listening  for  the  squeak  of  a 
meadow  mouse,  when  something  made  him 
prick  up  his  ears. 

There  was  something  about  that  squeak 
that  sounded  just  a  wee  bit  different  from 
any  squeak  he  had  ever  heard  before. 

But  no,  there  it  was  again,  unmistakably 
the  tiny  voice  of  a  mouse  on  the  other  side 
of  the  field.  The  fox  pup  had  such  needle- 
sharp  ears  that  he  could  hear  fainter 
sounds  than  any  human  being  ever  could 
have. 

But  though  Prisky  Pox  was  clever,  the 
Boy  at  the  Valley  Parm  was  more  so.  And 
the  Boy  sat  behind  a  bush  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  field,  as  motionless  as  the  gray 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    51 

stump  that  Frisky  thought  he  was.  This 
time  the  joke  was  on  the  Red  Fox  Pup,  for 
the  squeaks  he  heard  issued  from  the  Boy's 
pursed  lips.    It  was  an  excellent  imitation. 

He  tip-toed  nearer  and  nearer  the 
tiny  squeaks,  while  the  Boy  gazed  at  the 
graceful  fellow  through  his  new  field 
glasses. 

He  was  a  handsome  fellow,  was  Frisky 
Fox,  with  his  yellow-red  coat  shining  sleek 
in  the  sunlight.  And  myl  How  his  great 
plume  of  a  tail  fluffed  out  behind  him!  His 
tail  was  nearly  as  long  as  the  rest  of  his 
body  put  together,  and  it  fluffed  out  nearly 
as  broadly.  Mother  Red  Fox  certainly  had 
a  son  to  be  proud  of ! 

Of  a  sudden  a  little  breeze  shifted  around 
to  where  it  brought  the  foxy  one  a  faint 
scent.  It  told  his  keen  black  nose  there  was 
something  down  there  besides  the  bush. 

It  wasn't  a  mouse,  either! 

**No,  sir,  that's  no  field  mouse,"  said 
Frisky 's  nose,  as  the  Red  Fox  Pup  circled 
to  windward  of  the  tiny  squeaking  sounds. 

*' That's  the  Boy  at  the  Valley  Farm! 


52    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

That's  what  that  is!  Now  I'll  just  pretend 
not  to  see  him  at  all  till  I  get  behind  that 
rock,  then  I'll  race  for  the  woods." 

For  Frisky  didn't  know  that  the  thing  the 
Boy  was  pointing  at  him  was  only  a  pair  of 
field  glasses.  And  it  wouldn't  have  made 
much  difference  even  had  he  known.  Frisky 
did  not  like  to  be  watched.  He  therefore  did 
exactly  as  he  had  planned,  crossing  the  field 
with  seeming  lack  of  interest  in  an3d:hing 
save  the  purple  and  yellow  of  asters  and 
golden-rod  and  the  scarlet  of  wood-bine,  and 
the  blue  of  the  Indian  summer  sky,  till  he 
felt  himself  out  of  range. 

At  the  instant  of  his  discovery  that  it  was 
one  of  those  dangerous  human  creatures  that 
sat  there  like  a  stump  he  had  cocked  his  ears 
sharply  and  leaped  fully  two  feet  into  the 
air  in  his  surprise. 

That  was  the  only  sign  he  made,  however, 
of  the  extreme  anxiety  that  set  his  heart  to 
thumping,  till  he  was  just  on  the  edge  of 
the  woods;  then  he  suddenly  looked  back 
with  one  of  his  thin,  husky  barks,  to  know 
why  the  Boy  should  have  tried  to  fool  him. 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    53 

But  afterwards,  from  the  shelter  of  the 
barberry  vines  that  fringed  the  old  stone 
wall,  he  peered  and  peeked  and  wondered 
about  it  all  as  long  as  the  Boy  remained. 


g 

^^ 

SM 

^ 

^Ift^^g 

'^i^SbBB 

f^^ 

^K 

^7i»^.^^feLi^  .4 

^^m^n^T^J^ 

^^^^m 

^^^•^ 

awl 

^^^^^i 

S^^ 

STEEP  TEAILS 


These  hot  days  in  August,  when  the  trout 
took  to  the  very  deepest,  coldest  pools  they 
could  find,  and  hid  themselves  all  day  under 
the  over-hanging  rocks,  and  every  creature 
that  couldn't  take  to  the  water  longed  for 
rain,  Fleet  Foot  used  to  lead  her  little  fam- 
ily up  the  steep  trails  to  the  top  of  Mount 
Olaf  or  some  near-by  mountain-top,  where 
the  wind  blew  cool  night  and  day. 

These  trips  were  full  of  much  joy  for  the 
fawns,  for  there  was  all  the  spice  of  adven- 
ture in  following  a  winding  hoof -path  that 
led — ^they  knew  not  where.  For  one  never 
knew  what  might  be  just  around  the  next 
turn. 

64 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    55 

How  their  hearts  thumped  when  they  came 
suddenly  to  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  where 
they  could  look  down  at  Beaver  Brook  tum- 
bling over  the  rocks  away,  'way  down  below  1 
Or  perhaps  they  could  get  just  a  glimpse  of 
Lone  Lake  lying  gleaming  in  the  hollow  of 
the  hills. 

Not  that  there  was  any  trail  in  the  real 
sense  of  the  word. 

Left  to  themselves,  they  could  not  have 
told  one  rock  from  another,  save  here  and 
there  where  a  bit  of  mica  gleamed  silver 
against  the  gray,  or  a  scraggly  pine  leaned 
too  far  out  over  a  ledge  to  look  safe. 

But  to  their  mother  their  trail  was  as 
plain  as  the  nose  on  your  face.  It  was  just 
a  matter  of  turning  and  twisting,  here  to 
pass  between  those  two  queer-shaped  bould- 
ers, and  there  to  go  around  that  flat  rock 
which  teetered  alarmingly  beneath  one's 
feet.  She  had  been  over  it  all  so  many  times 
that  she  had  learned  the  look  of  each  new 
turn  of  the  pathway.  Had  so  much  as  one 
pinnacle  been  out  of  place,  she  would  have 
known, — and  wondered  why. 


56    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

One  still,  sunshiny  morning,  after  they 
had  drunk  their  fill  at  a  cool  green  pool  of 
Beaver  Brook,  they  started  up  the  moun- 
tain-side for  a  day  under  the  shade  of  the 
last  fringe  of  evergreens  before  one  came 
to  the  bare,  rocky  ridges,  where  it  got  too 
cold  for  anything  to  grow,  except  in  shel- 
tered crevices. 

The  fawns*  danced  and  capered  to  the 
music  of  the  bird  song  that  filled  the  woods, 
while  Fleet  Foot  cropped  all  sorts  of  deli- 
cious tid-bits, — ^now  a  cliunp  of  oyster  mush- 
rooms growing  shelf-like  on  a  fallen  log, 
and  now  a  bunch  of  blue-berries,  plump  and 
juicy  and  sun-sweet.  Life  was  one  long 
holiday. 

One  misty  morning,  as  Fleet  Foot  was 
leading  them  in  great  bounds  through  the 
tall  meadow  grass,  the  fawns  came  to  a  sud- 
den stand-still,  their  eyes  popping  with  sur- 
prise. For  they  had  just  barely  escaped 
stepping  on  the  writhing  coils  of  a  great  long 
snake. 

Their  bleat  of  fear  brought  Fleet  Foot 
instantly. 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    57 

*  ^  Pouf !  That 's  only  a  garter  snake, ' '  she 
reassured  them,  with  one  glance  at  the 
length-wise  stripes  (yellow  and  dark  gray). 
** That's  nothing  to  be  afraid  of.  The  only 
kind  you  want  to  look  out  for  is  the  kind 
with  cross-wisp  stripes.  I  don't  believe  there 
is  more  than  one  snake  in  all  the  North 
Woods  that  is  poisonous, — and  there  are  at 
least  a  dozen  that  are  perfectly  harmless." 

**What  is  the  poisonous  one?"  bleated  the 
trembling  fawns. 

^^The  rattler.  But  you  won't  see  one  of 
those  in  a  year's  time, — ^not  in  these  woods, 
where  it  gets  so  cold  in  winter.  They  love 
it  hot  and  dry,  and  so  of  course  they  live 
mostly  out  West,  though  you  do  find  a  few 
sometimes  among  the  rocks  on  the  warm 
south  side  of  a  mountain." 

**Oo!  What  if  we'd  meet  a  rattler?" 
shivered  the  fawns. 

**Well,  he'd  warn  you  before  you  went 
too  near." 

^'Warnus?— How?" 

**He'd  rattle,  of  course.  He  has  a  little 
set  of  bones  on  his  tail  that  he  can  rattle,  and 


58    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

when  you  hear  that,  you  need  to  look  out, 
and  get  away  quickly." 

"Are  the  others  really  harmless,  Mother?'* 

**  Harmless  to  fawns.  That  is,  they  have 
no  poison  bite.  Snakes  do  a  lot  of  good,  eat- 
ing pests." 

**But  I  don't  like  snakes,"  insisted  the 
tinier  fawn. 

**Well,  neither  does  Mother.  But  it's  so 
silly,  children,  to  be  afraid.  Where  is  that 
garter  snake  ?  Gone,  to  be  sure !  And  even 
the  rattler  only  strikes  because  he  thinks 
you  are  going  to  kill  him." 

The  fawns  were  very  thoughtful  after 
that.  **  Mother,"  they  finally  bleated. 
'^  Seems  as  if  even  the  meanest  creatures  in 
the  woods  had  some  use." 

*' That's  right,"  their  mother  answered 
them. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  OGRE  OF  THE  AIR. 

It  was  one  of  those  breezy  days  when 
white  wind  clouds  piled  up  against  the  sky, 
and  patches  of  shadow  traveled  across  the 
mountain-sides. 

Fleet  Foot  had  decided  to  take  the  fawns 
to  Mountain  Pond,  in  the  pass  between 
Mount  Olaf  and  Old  Bald-face,  a  peak  that 
had  been  burned  bare  of  trees  by  a  forest 
fire,  and  now  grew  nothing  much  save  blue- 
berries for  the  bears  to  feast  on. 

Fleet  Foot  wasn't  a  bit  afraid  of  bears 
at  this  time  of  year,  knowing  how  greatly 
they  prefer  a  vegetarian  diet,  though,  at 
that,  she  didn't  intend  to  go  too  near.  (After 
all,  the  steep  gulch  of  Beaver  Brook  Bed  lay 
between  the  two  mountain-sides.) 


60    ADVENTUEES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

They  had  a  lovely  time  at  the  Pond,  where 
they  met  several  other  does,  with  their 
fawns,  and  the  youngsters  played  together 
while  their  mothers  gossiped  over  their  cuds. 
The  cool  breeze  ruffled  their  fur  delightfully, 
and  they  found  enough  shade  in  the  patch 
of  woods  that  huddled  in  the  head  of  the 
gulch. 

As  the  sun  neared  the  tops  of  the  purple 
peaks  that  faded  away  to  the  west,  the  little 
group  started  back  down  the  trail  to  where 
there  was  more  herbage  to  browse  upon. 
Fleet  Foot  lingering  along  to  allow  the 
fawns  plenty  of  time  to  pick  out  a  sure  foot- 
ing. For  it  was  their  first  trip  over  this 
particular  trail. 

Carefully  they  wound  over  a  great  over- 
hanging boulder,  on  the  edge  of  which  they 
paused  to  peer,  with  braced  hoofs,  over  the 
precipice,  which  here  dropped  sheer  to  the 
rocks  below.  Just  beyond,  the  first  falls  of 
Beaver  Brook  dashed  green-white  over  the 
ledges. 

Then  Fleet  Foot  hurried  on  to  the  foot 


ADVENTUEES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    61 

of  the  falls,  where  one  might  take  a  shower 
bath  in  the  spray. 

**Come  on,  children,"  she  whistled  over 
her  shoulder,  her  eyes  on  the  path  ahead. 
And  the  tinkle  of  the  falling  water  filled  her 
ears  till  she  could  not  have  heard  their  foot- 
steps following,  had  she  tried. 

But  fawns  will  be  fawns.  And  the 
youngsters  stopped  to  watch  a  queer  shadow 
that  now  danced  across  their  path.  Cloud 
shadows  they  had  watched  all  day,  but  this 
one  was  different.  In  the  first  place,  it  was 
such  a  tiny  thing, — for  a  cloud.  And  it 
danced  about  in  the  most  amusing  manner, — 
much  faster  than  any  cloud  shadow  they  had 
seen  before.  In  fact,  it  seemed  to  be  going 
around  and  around  them  in  big  circles.  And 
it  looked  exactly  as  if  the  little  cloud  had 
wings  like  a  bird. 

Alas  for  two  such  little  helpless  ones! — 
Had  they  but  looked  above  their  heads, 
instead  of  at  the  circling  shadow,  they 
would  have  discovered  that  it  was  a  giant 
bird  that  made  it.  In  short,  it  was  Baldy 
the  Eagle,  the  ogre  of  the  air, — and  an  ogre 


62    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

that  especially  delighted  in  having  fawn  for 
supper! 

An  ugly  fellow  was  Baldy,  with  his  great 
curved  beak  and  his  great  yellow  claws.  His 
body  alone  was  bigger  than  that  of  the 
fawns,  and  his  wings  spread  out  like  the 
wings  of  an  aeroplane.  He  was  mostly  a 
muddy  brown,  with  white  head  and  fan- 
spread  tail,  and  he  smelled  horribly  fishy, 
for  he  isn't  a  bit  particular  about  what  he 
eats,  and  frequently  stuffs  himself  so  full 
of  the  spoiled  fish  he  finds  on  the  shore  that 
he  can't  even  fly. 

The  air  hissed  to  his  wings. 

He  waited  now  till  he  felt  that  Fleet  Foot 
was  surely  too  far  away  to  come  to  their 
rescue,  should  he  attack  the  fawns.  For  he 
knew  from  experience  that  with  her  sharp 
hoofs  she  could  put  up  a  fight  he  would 
rather  not  face. 

For  a  while  he  wandered  if  he  should  just 
simply  drop  down  upon  one  of  the  little  fel- 
lows and  pin  his  talons  into  his  back,  and 
fly  away  to  his  nest.  But  it  would  be  awfully 
heavy  to  carry  and  of  course  it  would  kick 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    63 

and  wriggle,  till  like  enough  he  would  be 
unable  to  manage  his  feathered  aeroplane, 
and  they  would  run  into  some  jagged  rock. 

If  the  fawns  had  been  orphans,  he  might 
have  killed  one  right  there,  and  no  one  would 
have  interfered. 

But  they  were  not  orphans,  and  their 
mother  would  come  racing  back  and  cut  him 
to  pieces  with  those  knife-edged  fore  hoofs. 

Ha!  An  idea  popped  into  his  ugly  old 
head. — He  would  scare  one  of  the  fawns  off 
the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and  it  would  leap 
to  its  death  on  the  rocks  below ;  and  then  he 
could  wait  till  Fleet  Foot  had  gone,  for  his 
feast. 

Swooping  lower  and  lower,  while  still  the 
foolish  fawns  stared  innocently  at  the  danc- 
ing shadow,  he  suddenly  flapped  his  wings 
about  the  tinier  fawn,  startling  him  terribly, 
but  not  enough  to  make  him  back  off  the  cliff. 

Stronger  measures  must  be  tried, — and 
there  was  no  time  to  waste ;  for  at  the  fawn's 
first  bleat  of  terror.  Fleet  Foot  heard  and 
was  now  leaping  like  the  wind,  back  the  trail 
to  his  rescue. 


64    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

Swooping  again,  Baldy  began  beating  the 
little  fellow  with  great  heavy  blows  of  his 
middle  wing  joints.  It  hurt  dreadfully,  and 
the  frightened  fawn  turned  first  this  way, 
then  that,  in  his  endeavor  to  get  away. 
Nearer  and  nearer  the  edge  of  the  precipice 
he  crowded.  Now  one  hind  foot  had  actually 
slipped  off  the  rock  face,  and  he  had  to 
struggle  to  regain  his  balance. 

Then  the  one  thing  happened  that  could 
have  saved  him.  Fleet  Foot  reached  the 
spot.  Bearing  furiously  on  her  hind  legs, 
she  struck  at  Baldy 's  head  with  her 
sharp  hoofs,  tearing  great  wounds  in 
his  scalp.  Then,  with  a  scream  of  rage  and 
pain,  he  raised  his  wings  and  slanted  swiftly 
upward,  wings  hissing,  to  his  granite  peak. 

The  fawn  was  not  seriously  hurt, — only 
terribly  frightened.  His  back  was  bruised, 
but  that  would  heal,  and  he  would  be  none 
the  worse  for  his  experience. 

But  where  was  the  other  fawn? — They 
found  him  wedged  in  between  the  boulders, 
— ^the  one  place  where  he  could  ever  have 
escaped  the  beat  of  those  wings.    Fleet  Foot 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    65 

praised  him  mightily  for  having  so  much 
sense,  and  he  felt  quite  cocky, — though  of 
course  his  brother  was  the  real  hero  of 
the  day. 

One  other  danger  marred  their  summer. 

Every  now  and  again,  as  they  were  pass- 
ing beneath  some  low-hanging  branch,  they 
would  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  tawny  form  flat- 
tened along  the  limb,  watching  them  with 
pale  yellow  eyes  that  gleamed  through  nar- 
rowed lids. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  in  a  deep,  dark  hem- 
lock thicket,  or  a  cedar  swamp,  that  they 
would  meet  the  giant  cat. 

He  was  a  ferocious-looking  fellow,  was 
Old  Man  Lynx,  with  his  great,  square,  whis- 
kered face,  and  his  ears  with  their  black 
tassels  and  the  black  stripe  down  the  middle 
of  his  back.  And  my,  how  his  claws 
crunched  the  bark  as  he  sharpened  them! 
How  his  whiskers  twitched  and  his  mouth 
watered  as  the  fawns  passed  beneath  him! 
He  seemed  all  teeth  and  claws. 

Perhaps  the  little  family  would  be  drows- 
ing peacefully  in  the  shade  of  a  long  Sep- 


66    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

tember  afternoon  when  suddenly  some  spirit 
of  their  ancestors,  (or  was  it  some  guardian 
angel  of  their  antlered  tribe'?)  would  whis- 
per ^^Danger!'^  and  set  their  fur  to  rising 
along  their  spines  in  a  cold  shiver  of  name- 
less fear. 

Had  Old  Man  Lynx  ever  really  put 
it  to  the  test,  he  could  have  won  out  with 
Fleet  Foot.  But  he  knew  the  sharp  drive 
of  her  little  hoofs,  and  he  was  terribly  afraid 
of  pain.  (Did  he  not  wear  a  great  scar  in 
his  side,  due  to  an  adventure  of  his  rash 
young  days,  when  a  fat  buck  had  given  him 
a  rip  with  his  antlers  ?) 

Perhaps  that  was  why  Fleet  Foot  always 
raced  away  in  a  wide  curve  that  presently 
brought  her  back  to  where  she  could  peer 
curiously  at  the  invader  of  her  solitude, 
without  herself  being  seen. 

She  used  to  spy  in  the  same  way  on  Old 
Man  Eed  Fox,  and  Frisky,  his  promising 
young  hopeful. 

In  fact,  what  with  Frisky  spying  on  the 
fawns,  and  the  fawns  watching  Frisky,  these 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    67 

children  of  hostile  tribes  kept  pretty  close 
track  of  one  another. 

The  summer  passed  on  the  whole,  how- 
ever, with  no  more  adventure  than  the  sound 
of  the  lonely  ^*Hoo-woo-o-o-o"  of  a  loon  at 
twilight,  or  the  sudden  whirr  of  a  startled 
pheasaikv^'s  wings,  or  a  quarrel  between  some 
wicked  red  squirrel  caught  robbing  a  crow's 
nest.  (Or  was  it  a  crow  that  had  robbed  the 
squirrel's  little  hoard,  and  was  getting  hand- 
somely scolded  for  his  villainy?). 


CHAPTER  X. 

WILD  GRAPES. 

It  had  been  one  of  those  cool,  crisp  days 
when  the  sun  shone  just  warm  enough  to 
feel  good  to  the  furred  and  feathered  folk. 

Frisky,  the  Eed  Fox  Pup,  had  been  creep- 
ing up  on  a  flying  squirrel,  who  sat  nibbling 
the  ripe  berries  of  the  Solomon's  Seal  with 
her  three  little  ones  beside  her,  when  the 
entire  family  took  alarm  and  went  leaping 
back  to  the  beech-nut  tree. 

Now  Frisky  had  not  reached  the  age  of 
six  whole  months  in  vain.  He  had  sharp 
eyes,  and  he  used  them.  And  he  had  never 
seen  a  squirrel  that  could  spread  sail  like 
that.  He  felt  that  his  eyes  must  have 
deceived  him. 

He  forgot  his  surprise  at  the  very  next 


ADVENTUEES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    69 

turn  of  the  trail,  when  he  suddenly  spied  a 
tangle  of  wild  grape  vine  that  hung  in  a 
canopy  of  the  luscious  purple  clusters  over 
the  stag-horn  sumac. 

Frisky  Fox  had  never  seen  wild  grapes 
before,  though  he  had  often  passed  the  vines 
when  the  fruit  was  green.  Now  his  keen 
little  nose  told  him  enough  to  make  him 
eager  for  a  taste. 

But  the  fruit  hung  just  too  high.  Leap- 
ing into  the  air,  he  occasionally  got  a  nibble 
from  the  low-hanging  bunches.  But  these 
only  served  to  whet  his  appetite  for  more. 

To  add  to  his  discontent.  Fairy  the  Flying 
Squirrel  suddenly  sailed  down  from  a  tree- 
top,  alighting  on  the  very  top  of  the  grape- 
vine canopy.  And  there  she  perched  saucily 
and  munched  and  sucked  at  grape  after 
grape  before  his  very  eyes. 

This  was  too  much  for  Frisky.  Around 
and  around  the  vines  he  circled,  screwing  up 
his  courage  for  a  leap. 

He  finally  discovered  a  place  where  the 
vine  hugged  a  slanting  tree  trunk,  and  he 
climbed  as  far  as  he  could. 


70    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

The  next  instant  Fairy  had  sailed  back  to 
her  branch  as  easily  as  if  she  had  been 
laughing  at  him.  But  Frisky  didn't  mind 
that.  It  would  take  just  a  stretch  of  his 
neck  and  his  jaws  would  close  on  a  great 
cluster  of  the  fragrant  fruit. 

If  young  Frisky  Fox  had  only  been  con- 
tent with  that  one  taste,  all  might  have  been 
well.  But  just  beyond  was  a  larger  bunch. 
Frisky  gave  a  leap,  landing  on  his  tip-toes 
on  crossed  vines.  But  the  vines  parted 
beneath  his  weight,  and  down  he  plunged — 
almost  to  the  ground,  but  not  quite.  Not 
far  enough  for  a  foot-hold. 

And  there  he  hung,  head  downward,  hind 
legs  tangled  in  the  vines,  unable  to  better 
his  position! 

My,  how  he  writhed  and  squirmed,  and  bit 
at  the  vine  that  shackled  him!  But  to  no 
avail!  He  was  a  prisoner,  just  as  surely  as 
if  he  had  been  tied  with  a  rope.  Little  his 
brains  availed  him  now. 

If  any  one  had  asked  young  Frisky  Fox, 
as  he  hung  head  downward  from  that 
grapevine,  what  he  thought  of  the  situa- 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    71 

tion,  he  would  have  said  it  couldn't  be  worse. 

Yet  it  speedily  became  worse, — so  much 
worse,  indeed,  that  Frisky  redoubled  his 
efforts  to  free  himself, — though  he  had  an 
awful  feeling  that  it  was  no  use. 

It  was  Tattle-tale  the  Jay  who  warned 
him. 

Tattle-tale  kept  pretty  close  track  of  all 
that  went  on  in  the  forest,  and  then  told  all 
he  knew. 

So  many  times  had  he  flown  ahead  of 
Frisky  Fox,  screaming  at  the  top  of  his 
lungs:  ''A  Fox!  A  Fox!  Beware!"  that 
Frisky  had  come  to  dread  the  sound  of  his 
voice. 

This  time  Tattle-tale,  who  played  no 
favorites,  was  doing  Frisky  a  good  turn,  but 
the  little  fox  was  in  no  position  to  appreciate 
the  fact. 

"Look  out,  there!  Look  out,  everybody," 
Tattle-tale  was  screaming.  "Old  Man 
Lynx  is  coming!" 

^^Old  Man  Lynx!^'  squeaked  Shadow  Tail, 
the  Red  Squirrel,  making  for  his  hole  in  the 
oak  tree. 


72    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

'*OLD  MAN  LYNX,  Mammy,  Old  Man 
Lynx!"  squealed  Timothy  Cottontail,  hop- 
ping madly  for  a  hollow  log. 

'*01d  Man  Lynx!"  grunted  Unk  Wunk, 
the  Porcupine.  '*A  lot  I  care!"  And  he 
rolled  himself  up  into  a  prickly  ball  in  the 
top  of  a  swaying  birch  tree. 

''Old  Man  Lynx!"  thought  Frisky  Fox, 
fairly  beside  himself  with  frenzy.  Hanging 
there  heels  uppermost  in  the  grapevine,  he 
was  as  helpless  as  a  mouse  in  a  trap.  And 
here  was  the  great  cat,  his  ancient  enemy, 
creeping,  creeping,  creeping  through  the 
shadows,  his  nose  sniffing  this  way  and  that 
for  the  scent  that  would  tell  him  where  to 
find  a  good  supper. 

Another  moment  and  out  of  the  tail  of  his 
eye  he  saw  the  great,  heavy,  bob-tailed  cat, 
with  his  cruel  face,  squared  off  with  a  fringe 
of  whiskers  that  framed  his  chin,  and  sharp 
ears  tasseled  with  little  tufts  of  fur  at 
their  tips. 

The  yellow  eyes  gleamed  evilly  as  Old  Man 
Lynx  caught  sight  of  Frisky  hanging  there 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    73 

so  helplessly,  and  his  grizzled  gray-brown 
fur  rose  along  his  spine. 

Now  he  was  wriggling  along  the  ground 
flattened  out  like  a  snake.  Now  he  was 
creeping  up  the  tree  trunk  as  silently  as  a 
shadow,  and  now  he  was  gathering  his  legs 
beneath  him  for  the  leap  that  would  land 
him  squarely  on  Frisky  Fox. 

Frisky  knew  that  one  crunch  of  those 
gleaming  teeth  would  end  it  all,  so  far  as  the 
Red  Fox  Pup  was  concerned. 

But  Frisky  had  a  trick  up  his  sleeve.  His 
wits  were  still  in  working  order. 

''What  a  pity!"  sighed  Shadow  Tail,  the 
Red  Squirrel,  as  he  peered  from  his  hole  in 
the  oak  tree. 

For  Old  Man  Lynx  had  no  objection  what- 
ever to  having  fox  for  supper.  The  only 
objection  he  had  to  foxes  was  that  he  could 
never  catch  one. 

For  to  look  at  poor  Frisky  Fox,  his  red- 
brown  fur  still  soft  and  silky,  his  black  feet 
tapering  so  delicately  and  his  white  throat 
exposed,  it  didn't  seem  as  if  he  had  a  show 
in  the  world  of  escaping  the  huge  cat. 


74    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

But  Old  Man  Lynx  was  stupid.  He  had 
nothing  but  Ms  powerful  muscles  and  Ms 
murderous  teeth  and  claws,  whereas  Frisky 
had  the  nimble  wit  of  one  who  lives  by  being 
both  hunter  and  hunted. 

And  even  as  he  waited  for  the  leap  for 
which  he  saw  the  Lynx  preparing,  he 
thought  of  a  way  out  of  both  the  grapevine 
and  the  danger  he  was  in. 

The  next  instant  the  Old  Man  gave  one  of 
Ms  blood-curdling  screeches,  by  which  he  so 
often  paralyzed  his  prey  with  fright.  Then 
he  dropped  to  the  branch  just  above,  claws 
out  for  Frisky  Fox. 

But  the  very  instant  his  heavy  form 
touched  the  tangled  vines,  they  gave  way 
beneath  him,  and  he,  too,  went  crashing  down 
in  a  net-work  that  held  him  fast.  And, 
what's  more,  his  huge  weight  loosed  the  vines 
that  held  Frisky  prisoner. 

But  wait!  With  his  great  steel  claws  the 
giant  cat  wrenched  himself  free.  Frisky 
made  for  a  clump  of  greenbriar,  for  his  leg 
had  gone  to  sleep,  and  he  couldn't  run  right 
till  it  had  had  time  to  wake  up. 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    75 

Was  Old  Man  Lynx  to  get  him  after  all? 

There  was  only  one  reason  why  he  didn't 
— he  had  no  great  fondness  for  brambles. 
Cats,  wild  and  tame,  are  mighty  fond  of  their 
own  skins,  and  Old  Man  Lynx  was  no  excep- 
tion. He  'd  have  to  be  mighty  hungry  before 
he'd  either  scratch  his  fur  out  or  get  it  wet. 

While  Old  Man  Lynx  thought  it  over, 
Frisky  Fox  was  certainly  not  standing  still. 
Not  Frisky!  He  was  struggling  so  hard  to 
tear  himself  free  that  the  brambles  were 
all  trimmed  up  with  little  tufts  of  his  tawny 
coat. 

That  the  gray  form  crouched  so  near  him 
meant  to  spring  he  could  easily  guess,  and 
his  heart  thumped  so  loudly  in  his  furry 
chest  that  he  could  hardly  breathe.  Eyes 
straining  wide  with  fright,  as  he  tugged  this 
way  and  that,  (for  he  was  really  caught  fast 
again),  he  suffered  far  more  from  terror 
than  from  the  pain  of  the  brambles.  His 
leg  was  awake  now,  and  with  one  last  twinge 
he  wrenched  himself  loose. 

At  the  same  instant  the  great  gray  cat 
launched  itself  almost  upon  him. 


76    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

But  Frisky  was  too  quick  for  it.  By  the 
time  Old  Man  Lynx  had  reached  the  spot, 
Frisky  was  tearing  down  the  slope. 

Now  lynxes  have  poor  eyesight.  Follow- 
ing their  nose  is  their  one  best  guide.  Of 
this  Frisky  was  aware,  as  his  mother  had 
told  him  so. 

He  could  hear  the  great  cat  scrambling 
after  him  at  a  terrific  pace.  But  he  was 
going  too  fast  to  try  any  dodges,  for  one 
stumble  and  the  other  would  be  upon  him. 
If  it  had  been  Mother  Red  Fox,  she  could 
have  laughed  at  her  pursuer.  But  Frisky 
was  only  a  pup,  remember,  and  his  short 
legs  had  all  they  could  do  to  keep  ahead  of 
such  a  big  fellow. 

Just  as  he  was  beginning  to  wonder  how 
long  this  would  keep  up,  he  recalled  some- 
thing else  his  mother  had  taught  him. 
Lynxes  cannot  swim.  At  least,  they  won't. 
The  river  was  just  off  to  the  left,  and  with 
a  quick  turn  and  a  sidewise  leap  that  might 
or  might  not  throw  the  Old  Man  off  his 
scent,  he  dashed  for  the  water. 

On  the  very  brink  of  the  moonlit  current, 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    77 

he  suddenly  remembered  one  thing  more. 
The  last  time  he  had  tried  that  swim  he  had 
let  his  tail  get  so  wet  and  heavy  that  he  had 
only  reached  the  other  bank  by  hanging  on 
to  his  father's  brush.  Now  there  was  no  one 
to  tow  him.  Should  he  risk  it,  or  was  he 
safer  where  he  was  ? 

To  cross  or  not  to  cross,  that  was  the  ques- 
tion before  him. 

If  he  trusted  his  fate  to  the  current,  he 
might  drown.  And  if  he  remained  on  the 
same  side  with  Old  Man  Lynx,  he  might  meet 
another  fate. 

There  was  but  a  heart's  beat  to  decide. 

Ah!  What  was  that  dark  object  just 
upstream?  Could  it  be  a  log?  What  luck! 
Frisky  veered  to  the  right,  his  long  agile 
leaps  once  more  outdistancing  the  merciless 
form  behind  him. 

He  reached  the  log.  Alas,  it  reached  only 
half  way  across!  But  he  raced  that  half. 
Then  one  of  his  powerful  forward  leaps  and 
he  had  landed  within  easy  swimming  dis- 
tance of  the  other  shore ! 

Old  Man  Lynx  stood  raging  on  the  bank 


78    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

lie  had  left,  afraid  to  risk  it.  His  disap- 
pointed screech  sent  shivers  along  Frisky 's 
spine,  but  he  knew  he  was  safe. 

Pup-like,  no  sooner  was  his  mind  relieved 
of  worry  than  he  burrowed  into  an  old 
gopher  hole  and  fell  fast  asleep. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

SPECKLED  TROUT. 

The  still  warmth  of  Indian  summer 
passed,  with  its  dreamy  days  and  its  crisp 
nights  ablaze  with  twinkling  stars. 

And  Fleet  Foot  left  the  fawns  to  shift 
more  and  more  for  themselves, — though 
they  still  followed  her  about.  At  first  they 
were  puzzled  and  a  little  hurt  by  her  grow- 
ing indifference.  Then,  as  they  began  to 
feel  the  strength  of  their  coming  buck-hood, 
they  began  to  enjoy  their  taste  of  freedom. 

Indeed,  the  little  rascals  even  began  to 
watch  the  bucks,  (their  big  cousins  and 
uncles),  who  were  returning  in  little  bands 
from  their  summer's  wanderings.  Some 
day  they,  too,  would  have  those  lordly  ant- 

79 


80    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

lers,  and  they,  too,  could  join  their  bachelor 
explorations,  while  the  does  and  younger 
fawns  remained  safely  behind  in  the  low- 
lands. 

Now  no  longer  could  they  hear  Vesper 
Sparrow  trilling  in  the  meadows  and  locusts; 
twanging  in  the  tree-tops.  The  brook  beds 
were  drying,  'and  the  deer  now  pastured 
along  the  sedgy  shore-line  of  Lone  Lake  or 
splashed  knee-deep  in  the  shallows,  while 
here  and  there  the  scarlet  of  a  maple  told 
of  approaching  winter. 

No  longer  did  the  gabbling  of  countless 
ducks  fill  their  ears  when  the  pink  sunsets 
tinted  the  Lake.  Instead,  there  were  many 
V-shaped  flocks  constantly  migrating  to  the 
Southland,  where  the  waters  would  not 
freeze. 

Now  it  was  that  the  speckled  trout,  whom 
all  summer  long  they  had  watched  flashing 
silvery  through  the  shallows,  began  putting 
on  their  coats  of  many  colors. — At  least  the 
bride-grooms  did.  The  prosj^ective  brides 
remained  a  quiet  brown,  for  reasons  the 
fawns  were  soon  to  learn.    (For  October  is 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    81 

the  month  when  trout  start  housekeeping 
together.) 

In  the  early  summer  the  fawns  had 
watched  these  same  finny  fellows  racing  and 
leaping  up  the  water-falls  to  the  rapids. 
With  the  long,  hot  days,  they  had  taken  to 
the  deep,  shadowy  pools — ^those  watery 
caverns  that  afford  such  peaceful  coolness 
everywhere  along  Beaver  Brook. 

Now  as  the  woods  turned  red  and  gold, 
the  trout  changed  their  cream  colored  vests 
to  the  most  vivid  orange,  which  looked  gay 
enough  with  their  red  and  white  fins. 

Their  coats  were  still  olive-green,  mottled 
with  darker  splotches,  and  on  their  sides  the 
green  melted  into  yellow,  with  the  little  red 
spots  and  speckles  that  give  the  trout  their 
name. 

Their  thousands  of  tiny  scales  were  like 
suits  of  mail, — ^which  came  in  very  handy 
when  they  fought,  as  you  shall  see. 

Now  the  fawns  noticed  that  the  larger  and 
brighter  colored  fish  were  prospecting 
around  in  the  shallows,  where  the  water  ran 
fastest,  shoveling  the  gravel  about  with  their 


82    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

bony  noses,  aided  by  their  tails.  Each  trout 
soon  had  a  little  nest  scooped  out  in  the 
stream  bed,  and  over  it  he  stood  guard,  (or 
perhaps  we  ought  to  say  swam  guard), 
defending  his  homestead  against  all  comers. 

Sometimes  a  larger  trout  would  come  by 
and  try  to  steal  the  nest  of  a  smaller  fish; 
and  then  what  a  fight  they  had!  How  they 
butted  each  other  about,  ramming  each 
other's  soft  sides,  and  even,  at  times,  biting 
each  other  on  the  lip.  It  must  have  hurt 
dreadfully,  because  each  trout  had  a  mouth- 
ful of  the  sharpest  teeth,  that  turned  back- 
ward, so  that  when  they  caught  a  worm  he 
was  hooked  as  surely  as  he  would  be  on  the 
end  of  a  fish-line. 

In  trout-land,  you  know,  it  is  the  father 
of  the  family  that  makes  the  nest.  He  it  is 
who  wears  the  gayest  clothing,  too, — 
because  if  the  mother  were  too  bright  col- 
ored, her  enemies  could  see  her  on  her  nest. 

Once  the  nests  were  ready  the  mother 
trout  came  swimming  upstream  and 
promptly  set  to  work  filling  them  with 
leathery  yellow-brown  eggs,  which  they  cov- 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    83 

ered  with  gravel  so  that  no  pike  or  other  can- 
nibal of  the  river's  bottom  could  find  and 
make  a  breakfast  off  of  them. 

The  fawns  marveled  as  they  watched,  day- 
after  day,  till  at  last  the  trout  all  went  back 
into  deep  water  for  the  winter,  leaving  the 
eggs  behind  them.  And  Fleet  Foot 
explained  how,  next  spring,  each  leathery 
brown  egg  that  had  escaped  the  cannibal 
fish  and  the  musk-rats  would  be  burst  open 
by  the  baby  trout  inside,  and  out  would 
wiggle  the  teeniest,  weeniest  troutlet  you 
can  possibly  imagine ! 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  VICTOR. 


One  evening  when  the  frost  lay  glittering 
in  the  moonlight,  the  fawns  were  suddenly- 
awakened,  in  their  soft  beds  of  drifted 
leaves,  by  a  loud  belling  down  on  the  lake 
shore ;  and  wide-eyed,  they  tip-toed  down  to 
see  what  it  meant. 

There  on  the  muddy  beach — stamped  with 
long  lines  of  little  cloven  hoof  prints — stood 
a  handsome  buck,  with  polished  antlers, 
dancing  about  as  if  too  full  of  energy  to 
stand  still. 

Now  the  fawns  had  never  seen  their 
father,  for  he  had  been  killed  by  a  hunter. 
And  the  other  bucks  of  the  herd  had  been 

84 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    85 

rambling  about  all  summer  in  the  higher 
hills. 

They  now  saw  Fleet  Foot  mince  daintily 
down  to  inspect  the  new-comer,  who  was 
belling  his  greeting  at  the  top  of  his  lungs. 

But  the  meeting  was  brought  to  a  sudden 
end.  For  out  of  the  woods  pranced  another 
buck,  belling  a  saucy  challenge  to  a  fight. 
Fleet  Foot  withdrew  to  a  safe  distance,  as 
did  the  fawns,  and  watched  admiringly  as 
the  two  bucks  came  together;  and  the  excite- 
ment, no  less  than  the  keen,  frosty  air,  set 
the  blood  to  racing  hot  through  their  young 
veins. 

Stamping  their  steel-shod  hoofs  defiantly 
and  tossing  their  antlered  heads  in  the  pride 
of  their  strength,  the  two  bucks  bellowed 
their  battle  challenge. 

**Well,  where  did  you  come  from?" 
shrilled  Fleet  Foot's  champion. 

** Never  mind  that.  I've  come  to  stay," 
bellowed  the  new-comer.  **If  either  of  us 
has  got  to  go,  it  will  be  yourself,  because 
I'm  the  strongest." 

'^Not  if  I  know  myself  I" 


86    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 


**Look  out!    The  strongest  wins!" 

^*  Yes,  the  strongest  wins.  So  look  out  for 
your  own  self!"  and  the  first  buck  gave  a 
shrill  snort  of  defiance. 

Straightway  the  pair  began  dancing  a  sort 
of  war-dance  around  each  other.  Slim  and 
supple,  they  looked  about  equally  fit. 

Fleet  Foot  stepped  gracefully  a  little 
nearer,  and  stood  looking  on,  with  her  back 
to  the  fawns, — ^who  thought  best  to  keep 
their  distance.  They  noticed  that  another 
little  audience  had  gathered  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  lake, — a  couple  of  yearling  bucks 
with  proud  spikes  of  horns  and  three  with 
two-pronged  antlers. 

Around  and  around  the  two  combatants 
tip-toed,  heads  flung  back,  chins  in  air.  Then 
they  lowered  their  antlers  like  shields,  and 
Fleet  Foot's  champion  got  in  a  good  dig  at 
the  other's  ribs.  With  a  bellow  of  rage,  the 
second  buck  came  plunging,  and  the  two 
crashed  together,  antlers  against  antlers. 
Their  sharp  hoofs  fairly  ploughed  the 
ground  as  they  strove  and  struggled  and 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    87 

pushed  each  other  about,  the  very  whites  of 
their  eyes  showing  in  their  rage. 

** There's  ginger  for  you!''  thought  the 
fawns. 

Now  the  fighting  pair  were  shouldering 
each  other  about  roughly  with  their  horns, 
lips  foaming,  gasping  for  breath, — almost 
locking  horns  in  a  butting  match.  At  last 
the  first  buck  lifted  his  knife-edged  fore-legs 
and  struck  at  the  intruder.  The  next 
moment  he  was  belling  in  triumph,  for  he 
had  cut  a  great  gash  in  the  other's  shoulder, 
and  the  latter  had  had  enough. 

The  victor  now  turned  for  the  look  of 
admiration  he  felt  he  ought  to  find  in  Fleet 
Foot's  eyes.  But  instead,  he  barely  caught 
a  glimpse  of  her  dancing  away  through  the 
thicket,  with  just  one  merry  backward 
glance  to  see  if  he  would  race  her. 

But  he  knew  where  to  follow;  for  there 
was  the  faintest,  loveliest  perfmne  on  the 
air  where  she  had  passed. 

The  fawns  gazed  after  the  pair,  as  they 
disappeared,  then  found  themselves  alone. 
All  that  month,  while  the  woods  turned  from 


88    ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

scarlet  and  yellow  to  brown  and  gray,  and 
the  nights  grew  frosty  under  the  stars,  the 
fawns  were  left  very  much  to  their  own 
devices.  But  they  were  well  capable  of  look- 
ing out  for  themselves  at  this  time  of  year, 
for  they  found  a  beech  wood  and  began  fat- 
tening on  the  beech  nuts  against  the  increas- 
ing chill. 

Their  coats  were  changing  from  tawny 
red  to  bluish  gray,  and  their  fur  thickening 
to  keep  a  layer  of  warm  air  next  their  skins. 
There'  were  coarser  hairs  growing  out  as 
well,  that  helped  to  shed  the  rain.  Their 
new  fur  glistened  in  the  sunshine,  and  the 
fawns  raced  and  hurdled  in  the  keen  air, 
and  took  running  high  jumps  to  work  off 
their  surplus  energy. 

Then  Fleet  Foot  and  the  winning  buck 
returned,  and  with  them  came  two  of  the 
young  bucks  who  had  watched  the  battle. 
The  six  ranged  happily  from  cranberry  bog 
to  evergreen  swamp,  feasting,  feasting, 
feasting  on  mosses,  lichens,  anything  and 
everything  that  grew,  till  their  sides  rounded 
with  their  winter  plumpness,  and  a  layer  of 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    89 

warm  fat  lay  just  underneath  their  skins. 

But  with  the  first  powdering  of  snow  came 
a  new  danger.  The  hunting  season  had 
opened,  and  to  the  huntsman  our  little  fam- 
ily meant  merely  a  few  poimds  of  venison 
for  his  table,  and  the  pride  of  a  pair  of 
antlers  to  hang  his  gun  upon. 

To  the  buck,  however,  one  little  bullet 
might  in  an  instant  rob  him  of  life  and  the 
keen  joy  of  his  airy  speed,  and  all  the  glad 
wonderful  world  about  them,  and  leave  his 
family  defenseless  through  the  long,  hard 
winter. 

He  was  therefore  more  than  wary.  With 
the  first  crash  of  the  Hired  Man's  thunder 
stick,  he  led  his  little  herd  to  a  distant  cedar 
swamp,  where  they  were  soon  joined  by  other 
groups  as  nervous  as  themselves  at  this  new 
peril  that  could  pick  them  out  and  wound 
them  from  so  far  away. 

Sometimes,  even  then,  a  member  of  the 
band  would  have  a  l*ace  for  his  life. — ^And 
sometimes  he  never  came  back!  But  Fleet 
Foot  and  her  five  pulled  through  in  safety. 

Then  the  thundel*  stick  ceased  to  roar  in 


90    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

the  woods  about  Mount  Olaf .  The  *  *  season ' ' 
was  over,  and  the  entire,  band  set  about  mak- 
ing active  preparations  for  the  on-coming 
winter.  Already  there  were  chill,  drizzly 
days  when  all  the  world  looked  gray. 

The  former  rivals  now  chewed  their  cuds 
together  as  peacefully  as  you  please,  the 
bucks  sleeping  on  one  side  of  the  thicket, 
the  does  and  their  fawns  on  the  other. 

Then  came  a  big  surprise  for  the  fawns. 

It  was  a  surprise  for  the  Red  Fox  Pup 
as  well. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE   QUEER  FEATHERS. 


Frisky,  the  Red  Fox  Pup,  had  learned 
many  lessons  since  the  day  he  so  nearly 
hanged  himself  in  the  wild  grape-vines. 

There  was  the  day  of  the  first  snow,  for 
instance. 

Awakening  one  morning,  cramped  and 
chilled  because  he  had  not  lined  his  bed 
deeply  enough  with  leaves  to  keep  off  the 
cold,  he  peered  from  his  little  den  on  the 
hillside  with  wide  eyes. 

The  air  seemed  filled,  as  far  as  he  could 
see,  with  tiny  white  feathers,  and  the  ground 
was  covered  with  them. 

He  peered  this  way  and  that,  wondering 
what  kind  of  birds  they  could  be  whose 

91 


92    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

plumage  was  being  shed  so  freely.  It  must 
be  a  flock  large  enough  to  cover  the  whole 
sky,  he  decided,  mystified. 

He  crept  stealthily  from  the  den,  afraid, 
because  he  did  not  understand. 

The  instant  his  black  feet  touched  the  cold 
stuff,  he  leaped  high  into  the  air,  with  a  yip 
of  fright  and  amazement.  But  when  he 
opened  his  mouth  he  got  a  taste  of  the  fall- 
ing flakes. 

**Ha!"  he  said  to  himself,  '*that  accounts 
for  it.    It  is  just  rain  turned  white." 

Still,  he  crept  warily  down  to  PoUywog 
Pond  for  his  breakfast,  stepping  high, 
because  he  hated  wet  feet. 

Arrived  at  the  pond  he  stopped  for  a 
drink,  when  his  lapping  tongue  came  plump 
against  a  film  of  something  hard  and  shining 
that  seemed  to  cover  the  water.  What  could 
it  be,  he  asked  himself,  lapping  up  a  mouth- 
ful of  the  snow-flakes  to  ease  his  thirst.  (He 
wisely  held  them  in  his  mouth  till  they  had 
melted,  for  fear  of  chilling  his  stomach.) 

It  was  certainly  very  queer.  Now  the 
very  trees  were  beginning  to  be  outlined  in 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    93 

white.  It  made  the  world  look  quite  a  differ- 
ent place. 

As  for  the  deer,  they  took  to  a  thicket  of 
poplar,  birch  and  spruce,  on  which  they 
could  feed  when  the  snow  lay  deep. 

There  was  one  other  to  whom  winter 
brought  a  change  and  that  was  Old  Man 
Lynx. 

Now  it  is  very,  very  seldom  that  good  luck 
falls  right  at  one's  feet  undeserved. 

So  Old  Man  Lynx  warned  himself  when 
he  came  upon  the  musk-rat  in  the  trap. 

Of  course  the  giant  cat  did  not  know  it  was 
a  trap,  as  he  circled  around  and  around  the 
struggling  rat.  His  green  eyes  gleamed  hun- 
grily in  his  tawny  face,  and  he  crouched  so 
close  to  the  snow  crust  that  his  whiskers 
dragged  on  the  ground.  His  tasseled  ears 
twitched  nervously,  his  stubby  tail  thrashed 
the  earth  and  his  claws  were  bared  in  a 
fringe  across  the  great  awkward  paws,  as  he 
crept  nearer  and  nearer  the  struggling  bait. 

To  the  nostrils  of  the  cat  tribe  the  musky 
smell  of  the  water-rat  is  most  tempting,  and 
his  mouth  watered  till  he  licked  his  jaws  at 


94    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

thougM  of  the  feast  within  such  easy  reach. 

And  yet — and  yet — some  spirit  of  the  wild 
— some  instinct  of  the  dumb  brute  who  must 
fight  to  live — ^seemed  to  warn  him  that  where 
man  had  been,  there  would  be  trouble  for 
him.  And  he  circled  his  prey  without  quite 
daring  to  close  in  upon  it  and  end  its  squeak- 
ing protest. 

Now  the  Hired  Man  at  the  Valley  Farm 
had  not  meant  the  trap  for  Old  Man  Lynx. 
He  had  placed  it  there  on  the  bare  chance  of 
there  being  a  wolf  at  large  in  the  forest 
around  Mount  Olaf . 

As  the  midwinter  dawn  deepened  from 
salmon  to  rose,  and  the  snow  began  to  glit- 
ter in  the  sun's  first  rays,  Old  Man  Lynx  de- 
cided that  the  thing  was  altogether  too  mys- 
terious to  be  wholesome.  Instead,  he  trotted 
down  to  Lone  Lake,  where  muskrats  were 
supposed  to  be.  And  he  promised  himself 
that  even  were  it  too  late  in  the  day  to  catch 
a  rat,  he  could  at  least  afford  the  pleasure  of 
sniffing  at  the  chimneys  to  their  round 
houses, — those  air-holes  in  the  top,  where 
their  musky  breath  steamed  out,  while  the 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT    95 


rats  themselves  lay  snug  and  warm  within. 

Then,  suddenly,  just  as  Old  Man  Lynx 
was  passing  a  snow-laden  clump  of  spruces, 
he  caught  a  little  movement  in  their  lower 
branches.  Circling  till  he  had  the  ribbon  of 
the  wind  in  his  nostrils,  he  discovered  that  it 
was  a  covey  of  grouse. 

Grouse!  How  infinitely  more  delicious 
than  muskrat — ^more  tender  even  than  rab- 
bit! Now 
indeed  he 
was  glad 
he  had 
saved  his 
appetite. 


^i^^^^  CHAPTER  XIV. 

I  ^•.  I  STARVATION   TIME. 

Fleet  Foot,  the  Doe,  would  never  have 
dreamed  of  taking  her  fawns  down  to  the 
hay-stack  at  the  Valley  Farm,  had  not  the 
Farmer  and  his  Boy  set  her  leg  the  summer 
before,  and  gained  her  confidence  by  their 
kindness. 

But,  though  the  herd  had  selected  a  south- 
west slope  where  the  feeding  was  good,  and 
though  they  had  trampled  the  snow  till  it 
raised  them  higher  and  higher,  and  they 
could  browse  on  the  limbs  of  the  fir  trees,  it 
was  proving  a  cruel  v^inter.  As  blizzard  fol- 
lowed blizzard,  and  bark  and  browse  alike 
were  frozen  stiff,  they  huddled  together, 
weak  with  hunger. 

96 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT    97 

Then  the  thought  of  the  big  hay-mow  pro- 
vided for  the  sheep  and  cattle  proved  too 
much  for  Fleet  Foot,  and  she  resolved  to 
take  the  fawns,  (now  well  grown,)  slip  down 
under  cover  of  the  early  winter  dusk,  and 
there  help  herself  to  the  few  mouthfuls  she 
could  reach  through  the  bars.  For  part  of 
the  hay  stood  in  the  open  meadow,  with  only 
a  canvas  over  top  to  keep  it  dry,  and  a  few 
bars  to  keep  it  from  being  blown  away. 

The  other  deer  of  the  herd,  though  they 
were  starving,  were  far  too  timid  to  make 
the  venture  with  her.  To  them  it  seemed  a 
perilous  undertaking  to  go  so  near  human- 
kind. For  they  had  seen  many  things  in  the 
woods.  They  had  seen  the  Hired  Man  with 
his  long  black  stick  that  spoke  like  thunder, 
and  killed  more  surely  than  tooth  or  claw. 
They  preferred  to  starve  1 

For  Fleet  Foot,  the  dangers  of  traveling 
alone  with  the  fawns  through  the  winter 
woods  were  many.  First  there  was  the 
chance  of  meeting  Old  Man  Lynx.  For  now 
they  would  not  have  the  protection  of  the 
hoofs  and  horns  of  the  herd. 


98    ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

Then  they  might  get  lost  and  freeze,  should 
another  storm  catch  them  far  from  the  herd- 
yard.  But,  once  having  made  up  her  mind, 
Fleet  Foot  whistled  to  the  fawns  and  started 
off  in  a  series  of  long,  graceful  bounds  that 
carried  them  over  one  snow-bank  after  an- 
other. 

Had  they  dared  delay,  they  would  have 
sunk  to  their  knees  in  the  hard,  dry  snow  to 
rest  for  a  while  and  nibble  the  tops  of  some 
bush  that  promised  a  few  mouthf uls  of  sup- 
per, for  their  empty  stomachs  fairly  hurt. 
And  if  it  had  been  freezing  in  the  herd-yard, 
with  its  wall  of  snow,  and  the  crowding 
bodies  that  helped  keep  each  other  warm, 
imagine  how  cold  Fleet  Foot's  little  family 
must  have  been,  out  on  the  open  hill-top! 
The  savage  wind  and  the  snow-filled  air 
made  it  all  but  impossible  at  times  to  draw 
breath. 

But  worst  of  all  was  the  shadow  of  fear 
that  never  left  the  doe's  anxious  mother 
heart.  The  tree-trunks  crackled  alarmingly 
with  the  frost,  keeping  her  alert  for  enemies, 
and  the  wind  tore  savagely  through  the 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT     99 

brush.  Of  a  sudden  Fleet  Foot's  spine  be- 
gan to  prickle!  It  was  one  of  those  mys- 
terious things  that  she  had  never  been  able 
to  account  for.  But  it  usually  meant  danger  I 

Half  blindly,  they  had  been  making  their 
way,  hardly  able  to  see  in  the  green-black  of 
the  darkness.  But  they  marked  their  path 
by  the  darker  blackness  of  the  clumps  of 
spruce  trees,  which  to  their  trained  instinct 
pointed  the  way  like  a  map. 

Again  a  chill  ran  down  their  spine  and  the 
hair  raised  along  the  backs  of  their  necks! 
Some  instinct  told  them  real  danger  was 
near — ^what  danger,  they  could  not  know. 
EoUing  their  startled  eyes  behind  them,  they 
could  see  points  of  light  gleaming  at  them 
through  the  darkness. 

At  length,  through  the  winter  night,  came 
a  long,  shrill  cry  like  that  of  a  hound,  only 
wilder  and  more  terrifying.  Then  came  an- 
other, and  a  third.  It  was  an  uncanny  sound, 
that  of  the  three  gray  wolves,  watching  from 
behind  the  snowy  evergreens. 

Fleet  Foot  knew,  more  by  instinct  than  ex- 
perience, what  they  were,  for  their  like  she 


100  ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

had  never  seen  before.  Nor  had  any  one  in 
those  woods  known  a  winter  when  these  rav- 
enous beasts  had  come  down  out  of  the  Cana- 
dian wilds.  But  it  had  been  handed  down 
from  grand-sire  to  grand-son  that  once,  when 
the  snows  were  uncommonly  deep,  and  half 
the  wild  folk  starved  and  frozen,  wolves  had 
come  down  from  the  far  North  in  search  of 
prey. 

There  were  three  of  the  lean  gray  shapes, 
like  collie  dogs,  yet  so  much  larger  and 
fiercer — large  enough  to  attack  even  bigger 
game  than  Fleet  Foot,  the  doe. 

Should  worst  come  to  worst,  she  would 
have  no  more  chance  with  even  one  such  foe 
than  a  rabbit  with  a  hound.  It  would  all  be 
a  matter  of  which  could  run  the  faster.  And 
she  had  to  look  out  for  the  fawns ! 

Their  one  chance  of  escape  lay  in  their 
nimble  heels.  They  might,  for  a  time,  out- 
speed  their  enemies,  if  their  strength  held 
out.  The  combined  hoofs  and  antlers  of  the 
herd  might  have  fought  off  the  beasts  for  a 
time,  but  the  herd-yard  was  now  too  far 
away  for  Fleet  Foot  ever  to  reach  it  with  the 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT  101 

fawns  before  those  lean  gray  shapes  would 
be  at  their  throats.  The  Valley  Farm  lay 
straight  ahead,  and  her  fear  of  man  shrank 
to  nothing  beside  the  terrors  behind  her. 

Yes,  the  one  hope  on  the  horizon  lay  at  the 
Valley  Farm,  where  the  fear  of  man  might 
keep  the  wolves  from  following. 

And  to  the  Farm  Fleet  Foot  and  the 
fawns  now  sped  with  their  great,  bounding 
strides  that  took  whole  drifts  at  a  leap. 
Would  their  feet  slip  in  the  darkness,  crip- 
pling them  and  leaving  them  helpless  almost 
within  sight  of  safety? 

On  and  on  they  ran,  and  behind  them 
through  the  forest  crept  the  three  gray 
shapes,  slinking  along  like  shadows  with 
glowing  coals  for  eyes.  Every  now  and  again 
their  barking  howl,  long  drawn  out  and  fear- 
ful, tore  the  darkness.  Could  they  reach  the 
Valley  Farm,  Fleet  Foot  asked  herself  with 
pounding  heart? 

It  was  hard  going  through  the  powdery 
snow,  into  which  she  sank  dangerously  every 
time  she  came  to  a  drift  too  wide  to  leap. 
And  the  fawns  were  having  an  even  harder 


102  ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

time,  the  cold  cutting  into  their  lungs  till  it 
hurt. 

At  last,  straight  ahead,  gleamed  the  dim 
lighted  windows  of  the  farmhouse.  A  few 
more  bursts  of  speed  would  get  them  over  the 
fence  and  into  the  pasture  lot,  and  perhaps 
the  wolves  would  stop  at  the  boundary  of 
man's  domain.  But — could  they  make  it? 
Could  they  reach  that  fence  before  their 
grim  pursuers  ? 

Their  eyes  were  fairly  popping  with  the 
effort  they  were  making.  Here  was  a  mam- 
moth drift  that  in  summer  had  been  a  creek, 
and  there  a  patch  of  the  higher  wind-swept 
ground  where  the  ice  might  take  their  hoofs 
from  under  them. 

Ah !  The  fence  at  last !  One  leap  over  its 
smooth  pyramid,  and  with  a  sobbing  cough. 
Fleet  Foot  and  the  fawns  were  safe,  with  the 
wolves  not  ten  paces  behind! 

Then,  suddenly,  the  door  at  the  farm- 
house opened,  throwing  a  long  streak  of 
lamp-light  across  the  snow! 

The  wolves  slunk  back  in  fear.  But  so, 
too,  did  Fleet  Foot.    The  terror  of  the  great 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT  103 

gray  beasts  behind  her,  all  her  old  fear  of 
man  flooded  back  upon  her,  and  what  to  do 
she  did  not  know.  She  dared  not  go  back,  nor 
could  she  go  forward.  So  she  stood  stock 
still,  her  fawns  huddling,  trembling  against 
her  sides.  The  sudden  light  half -blinded  her, 
and  made  the  darkness  blacker.  What  could 
be  its  meaning?  Curiosity  might,  at  an- 
other time,  have  conquered  fear,  but  now 
she  was  trembling  in  every  joint,  her  spent 
lungs  wheezing  with  the  effort  she  had  made. 
This  was  far  different  from  slipping  in  un- 
der cover  of  darkness  as  she  had  planned. 

**  Father!  Come  quick!  I  do  believe  there 
is  a  deer  out  there — no,  a  doe,  and  two 
fawns!"  cried  the  Boy  of  the  Valley  Farm, 
as  the  light  from  the  open  door  threw  a  long 
ray  across  the  barn-yard  to  the  pasture  be- 
yond. 

'^Wait!  I'll  get  her  for  you!"  exclaimed 
the  Hired  Man,  springing  for  his  gun.  But 
at  the  Boy's  sharp  command  he  dropped  it, 
shame-faced. 

Then  from  farther  back  in  the  evergreens 


104  ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

came  the  spine-chilling  howl  of  the  gray 
wolves,  baying  their  lost  prey. 

'* Wolves,  my  son!"  exclaimed  the  Far- 
mer, joining  the  group  in  the  doorway. 
** Wolves  from  Canada.  It's  a  hard  winter 
that  has  brought  them  down.  I  don't  remem- 
ber seeing  wolves  since  I  was  a  little  shaver, 
forty  years  ago.  And  I  expect  that  is  what 
has  driven  the  deer  so  close.  Sh!  Come  out- 
side. ' '  The  two  closed  the  door  behind  them. 
**We  mustn't  frighten  them  away,  or  the 
.wolves  will  get  them,  sure." 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  GRAY  WOLVES. 


** That's  what  I  heard/'  exclaimed  the  Boy 
at  the  Valley  Farm.  *^  Wolves!  Imagine!  I 
didn't  suppose  they  ever  came  into  these 
woods." 

**It's  been  an  unusual  winter,"  his  father 
assured  him,  stepping  out  into  the  snowy 
barn-yard.  **I  saw  them  once  when  I  was 
ten  years  old.  But  I  thought  they  had  been 
driven  away  for  good.  I  suppose  the  rab- 
bits all  froze,  up  where  they  come  from,  and 
they  got  so  starved  they  were  driven  to  it 
They've  certainly  been  chasing  these  deer." 

For  as  their  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the 
snowy  darkness,  they  could  once  more  see 

105 


106  ADVENTUEES  OP  FLEET  FOOT 

the  shadowy  forms  of  Fleet  Foot  and  the 
fawns  by  the  hay-mow. 

**It  must  have  been  those  wolves  that  I 
heard  ten  minutes  back,''  said  the  Farmer, 
rubbing  his  unmittened  hands  together. 

**Just  see  how  hollow  these  poor  things 
look!"  exclaimed  the  Boy,  *'They  must  be 
starving.  Let 's  go  back  inside,  so  they  won 't 
be  afraid." 

They  met  the  Hired  Man  just  starting 
forth  with  his  gun.  **I'm  going  for  those 
wolves,"  he  hastened  to  explain. 

** That's  more  like  it,"  said  the  Farmer. 

Here  they  were  at  last,  beside  the  hay- 
stack. Fleet  Foot  and  her  fawns.  And  as 
three  disappointed  howls  arose  from  the 
woods  at  their  back,  the  famished  deer 
turned  to  snatch  their  first  ravenous  mouth- 
f uls  from  between  the  bars  of  the  crib.  They 
paused  in  their  banquet  only  long  enough  to 
stare  at  the  Hired  Man,  as  with  snow-shoes 
strapped  to  his  feet,  he  strode  down  the  Old 
Logging  Eoad, — Lop  Ear,  the  Hound,  at  his 
heels. 

**Who-o-o-o!"    howled    the    three    gray 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT  107 

wolves  from  the  blackness  of  the  woods. 
The  Hired  Man  raised  his  thunder-stick 
and  fired — straight  between  a  pair  of  the  red 
eyes  that  gleamed  at  him  through  the  night. 

**Yoo-o-o-oI"  screamed  one  of  the  wolves, 
as  he  fell,  while  the  cries  of  the  other  two  re- 
treated into  the  forest.  And  Whoo  Lee,  the 
great  barred  owl,  could  have  told  you  that 
they  carried  their  tails  between  their  legs. 
Their  weird  voices  faded  rapidly  into  the 
depths  of  the  woods ;  for  wolves  travel  fast 
on  their  round,  furry  feet,  which  spread  out 
beneath  them  like  round  snow-shoes. 

The  Hired  Man  strode  on  down  the  Old 
Logging  Eoadj  past  the  charred  trunks 
which  the  forest  fire  had  swept, — standing 
like  white  ghosts  now  in  their  snowy  man- 
tles,— and  on  nearly  to  Lone  Lake.  But 
never  a  sign  of  the  gleaming  eyes  of  the  two 
remaining  wolves  could  he  see,  though  his 
ears  shuddered  at  the  weird  howls  that  rang 
down  the  wind,  and  Lop  Ear  bristled  and 
growled. 

Fleet  Foot  and  the  starving  fawns  nibbled 
and  nibbled  at  the  haymow, — for  the  time,  at 


108  ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

least,  safe  and  happy.  But  could  they  ever 
get  back  to  the  herd-yard,  with  those  wolves 
still  at  large? 

For  once  they  were  in  luck.  The  Hired 
Man  was  not  the  only  hunter  who  followed 
the  wolves  that  night.  Old  Man  Lynx,  that 
fierce,  furry  fellow  with  tassels  on  his  ears 
and  claws  that  could  rend  like  steel  hooks, 
had  also  been  drivdii  down  to  the  Valley  by 
the  winter's  famine.  He,  too,  heard  the 
howling  of  the  wolves. 

He  heard  the  piercing  scream  of  the  wolf 
the  Hired  Man  had  shot,  and  he  knew  what 
it  meant.  The  lynx  wa^  hungry,  for  the 
storms  had  lasted  many  days,  and  the  rab- 
bits and  grouse  hens  hid  away  where  he  could 
not  find  them.  On  his  own  wide,  spreading 
paws,  therefore,  he  set  out  over  the  snow  to 
find  the  wolf  that  had  fallen.  His  heart  was 
glad  at  the  unexpected  feast  in  store,  and  lie 
whined  hungrily  under  his  breath. 

Every  now  and  again  he  had  to  pause  to 
bite  off  the  icy  balls  that  had  formed  under 
his  warm  feet.  But  before  ever  the  Hired 
Man  had  turned  back  from  Lone  Lake,  Old 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT  109 

Man  Lynx  was  peering  and  snifl&ng  at  the 
wolf  that  lay  dead. 

One  thing  he  did  not  know,  though.  No 
sooner  had  the  two  remaining  wolves  raced 
to  Lone  Lake,  with  their  tails  between  their 
legs,  and  the  roar  of  the  thunder-stick  in 
their  ears,  than  it  occurred  to  them  that  they 
were  still  ravenously  hungry.  And  the  one 
that  had  fallen  would  go  far  toward  easing 
that  terrible  emptiness  that  drew  their  sides 
together  and  made  them  desperate.  (For 
wolves  are  cannibals!) 

So,  back  the  horrid  beasts  came,  running 
on  their  furry  snow-shoes — back  down  the 
wind,  which  told  the  noses  of  these  great  wild 
dogs  as  plainly  as  words  that  Old  Man  Lynx 
was  there  before  them. 

**Who-o-o-o,"  they  howled  wrathfully, 
speeding  back  through  the  burnt-wood,  over 
whose  ghost-like  trunks  they  leapt  in  the 
darkness  so  fast  that  no  Hired  Man  could 
have  shot  them  had  he  tried. 

Old  Man  Lynx  raised  his  whiskered  face 
and     yowled     an     answering     challenge. 


110  ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

**Ye-ow-w-w!"  lie  screamed  at  them  de- 
fiantly. Then  he  bent  his  head  to  snatch  an- 
other mouthful  of  the  meat  he  knew  the 
wolves  were  on  their  way  to  claim. 

**Ye-ow-w-w!"  he  screamed  again,  as  the 
wolf  cry  swept  nearer.  This  time  he  saw 
two  pairs  of  red  eyes  gleaming  in  the  dark- 
ness. 

*^I  got  here  first,  and  I'll  make  it  hot  for 
the  first  one  that  comes  within  reach  of  my 
claws, "  he  warned  them,  in  tones  they  under- 
stood without  words. 

^' We  are  two  to  your  one !"  they  answered 
him. 

Little  did  Old  Man  Lynx  imagine  that  he 
had  an  ally  so  near.  To  him  it  was  merely 
a  case  of  having  found  a  meal  in  the  wolf  the 
Hired  Man  had  shot,  and  of  having  the  rest 
of  the  pack  demand  it  of  him.  So  the  giant 
cat  took  his  stand,  with  claws  outspread  over 
the  prize,  his  savage  face  tense  with  hate. 
His  green  eyes  blazed  at  them  through  the 
darkness. 

The  cowardly  wolves  paused  just  out  of 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT  111 

reach,  neither  one  of  them  quite  daring  to 
begin  the  attack,  yet  willing  to  fall  in,  should 
the  other  go  first,  for  both  were  wild  with 
hunger. 

Old  Man  Lynx  was  not  afraid.  He  meant 
merely  to  meet  each  wolf  as  he  came,  and 
fight  him  off  with  tooth  and  claw — or  if 
worst  came  to  worst,  he  could  climb  the  near- 
est tree.  For  the  power  to  climb  is  the  one 
great  advantage  that  cats  have  over  all  mem- 
bers of  the  dog  tribe. 

Old  Man  Lynx  himself  was  lean  with  fam- 
ine, for  the  great  storm  had  made  hunting 
all  but  impossible  for  him.  Not  so  much  as 
a  wood-mouse  had  shown  its  tracks  on  the 
snow  for  days.  And  there  had  been  nothing 
in  his  rocky  den  save  the  dried  and  frozen 
bones  of  dinners  long  since  past. 

To  surrender  his  supper  to-night  might 
mean  starvation  and  actual  death  to  him. 
But  so  it  did  to  the  wolves.  It  was  to  be  a 
fight  for  lif el 

Now  a  Ijoix's  claws  are  like  so  many  little 
curved  swords  of  poisoned  steel, — and  he  had 


112  ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

five  on  each  foot.  He  could  dig  at  a  wolf's 
unprotected  sides  with  his  hind  legs  while 
his  fore  legs  were  clinging  to  the  throat  in 
which  he  would  try  to  fasten  his  fangs. 

The  gray  wolves  knew  all  this,  for  Old 
Man  Lynx  visited  the  same  Canadian  wilds 
that  they  had  come  from.  But  even  so,  in 
another  moment  they  had  taken  the  leap — 
together!  And  there  was  more  lynx  fur  fly- 
ing than  wolf  fur — as  Whoo  Lee,  the  owl 
overhead,  could  have  told  you. 

Just  in  the  nick  of  time  for  Old  Man  Lynx, 
the  Hired  Man  returned.  When  he  heard 
the  shrill  chorus  of  returning  wolves,  he  had 
hastened  back,  his  great  snow-shoes  shuffling 
their  way  down  the  Old  Logging  Road  at  a 
speed  of  which  he  had  not  known  them  cap- 
able. 

He  was  not  thinking  of  Fleet  Foot  and  the 
fawns.  But  with  the  barn  full  of  cattle,  it 
would  never  do  to  leave  such  beasts  at  large 
in  the  forest.  When  he  heard  Old  Man  Lynx, 
however,  the  Hired  Man  understood  just 
what  was  going  on.    He  had  not  lived  in  the 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT  113 

back-woods  for  nothing  all  his  days.  And  he 
decided  to  draw  a  little  nearer,  in  the  hope  of 
getting  another  shot  or  two  at  the  great  gray 
terrors  from  the  North. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  farmer's  plan. 

It  was  thus  at  the  very  moment  that  Old 
Man  Lynx  was  striking  out  with  bared  claws, 
and  the  gray  wolves  were  closing  in  on  him 
both  at  once,  that  his  imexpected  ally 
reached  the  scene. 

The  Hired  Man  raised  his  gun,  pointing  it 
straight  between  two  gleaming  eyes  that 
shone  out  in  the  darkness.  He  had  to  do  it 
quickly,  they  jumped  about  so  fast.  Then  a 
shot  rang  out  on  the  silent  night! 

It  singed  a  streak  across  the  lynx's  flank, 
— ^but  it  felled  the  wolf  whose  jaws  were  just 
about  to  clamp  about  his*  leg.  A  second  shot 
nicked  the  tasseled  ear  of  the  great  cat  fight- 

114 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT  115 

ing  so  desperately.  But  it  singed  the  fur 
on  the  neck  of  the  second  wolf,  just  in  time 
to  check  him,  as  his  fangs  were  finding  their 
way  through  the  thick  fur  ruff  that  protected 
the  lynx's  throat.  At  this  second  shot,  the 
wolf,  with  a  howl  of  terror,  tucked  his  tail 
between  his  legs  and  ran. 

The  Hired  Man  hesitated,  then  decided 
that  the  lynx  had  won  the  right  to  live  by  his 
pluck.  Thus  Old  Man  Lynx  was  left,  some- 
what the  worse  for  the  meeting,  but  still  able 
to  enjoy  the  rest  of  his  meal ;  while  the  Hired 
Man,  counting  the  night  well  spent,  shuffled 
home  on  his  snow-shoes.  But  there  was  still 
a  gaunt  gray  wolf  at  large  in  the  forest — and 
Fleet  Foot  and  the  fawns  had  still  to  get  back 
to  the  herd-yard  before  morning  found  them 
in  the  haunts  of  man ! 

But  strange  things  can  happen.  No  soon- 
er had  the  lone  gray  wolf  fled  from  the  unex- 
pected slaughter  than  the  wind  shifted,  and 
he  caught  an  odor  most  agreeable  to  his  pal- 
ate. For  his  gaunt  sides  were  so  hollow  that 
every  rib  showed.  It  was  an  odor  he  had 
never  before  followed  up.   He  had  not  met  it 


116  ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

in  his  Northern  wilds,  but  it  smelled  porky 
and  delicious. 

It  was  on  the  trunk  of  a  wild  apple  tree 
that  he  found  the  little  round  bristly  fellow. 
And  he  could  see,  by  the  gray  light  of  dawn, 
that  his  black  sides  bulged  with  fat,  in  a  win- 
ter when  all  the  furry  folk  were  lean  and 
hungry. 

That  alone  was  puzzling.  But  what  sur- 
prised him  even  more  was  that  this  queer 
fellow  showed  no  sign  of  fear.  He  was  sing- 
ing a  little  song,  all  in  one  flat  key — ^**Unk- 
wunk,  unk-wunk,  unk-wunk."  It  was  a 
young  porcupine,  one  of  these  prickly  fel- 
lows so  like  a  tiny  bear,  only  with  long  black 
needles  instead  of  fur.  The  gray  wolf  did 
not  know  how  terrible  those  needle-like  quills 
can  be,  when  once  they  get  in  one 's  paw.  For 
they  are  barbed  like  a  hook  on  the  end,  and 
when  they  stick  into  one,  it  hurts  worse  to 
pull  them  out  than  to  leave  them  where  they 
are.  The  wood  folk  that  lived  around  Lone 
Lake  knew  enough  to  leave  TJnk-Wunk 
strictly  alone.  So,  he  was  never  afraid.  But 
the  wolf  did  not  know.  And  when  the  little 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT  117 

porcupine,  instead  of  climbing  higher,  out  of 
his  reach,  came  lazily  back  down  the  trunk 
and  began  to  gnaw  the  frozen  bark,  the  wolf 
thought  it  was  easy  game. 

Thus,  without  so  much  as  wondering  what 
made  this  strange  beast  so  fearless,  he  leaped 
open- jawed  upon  the  little  porcupine.  There 
was  just  one  howl  of  agony,  as  he  clamped 
his  jaws  on  those  barbed  quills,  and  it  was 
not  the  porcupine  who  gave  it! 

Whining  and  clawing  at  his  tortured 
mouth,  the  wolf  rolled  about  in  the  snow- 
drift, choking  and  spluttering  in  mingled 
wrath  and  terror.  For  Unk- Wunk  's  terrible 
barbed  quills  were  working  deeper  and  deep- 
er into  the  roof  of  his  mouth.  Finally  he 
rolled  over  on  them,  and  they  pierced 
through  to  the  brain.  That  was  the  last  of 
the  great  gray  wolf  that  had  come  down  out 
of  the  North  to  prey  upon  the  forest  folk 
around  the  Valley  Farm. 

Unk- Wunk,  without  in  the  least  realizing 
that  he  had  done  so,  had  performed  a  public 
service.  And  in  particular,  he  had  made  it 
safe  for  Fleet  Foot  and  her  fawns  to  go  back 


118  ADVENTUEES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

home  to  the  deer  yard  in  the  gray  of  the  win- 
ter dawn. 

**I  tell  you  what,"  said  the  Farmer  to  his 
son  next  day.  **I  Ve  a  plan  that  I  think  will 
interest  you." 

**What  is  it?"  asked  the  Boy,  eagerly. 

'*Just  this:  I've  plenty  of  hay  this  year, 
(more  than  enough  for  the  stock,)  and  I'm 
going  to  pitch  a  little  of  it  out,  after  this, 
every  time  the  storms  make  it  hard  for  the 
deer.  I  declare,  I  can't  bear  to  think  of 
their  being  so  starved!"  And  he  gazed 
thoughtfully  out  over  the  drifting  snow,  as 
he  thought  how  Fleet  Foot  had  braved  ev- 
erything to  reach  their  hay-stack. 

'* Hurray  I"  shouted  the  Boy.  ^*May  I 
pitch  some  out  right  now?  Poor  things, 
there  wasn't  much  they  could  reach  between 
the  bars,"  and  he  gazed  at  the  dainty  foot- 
prints the  fawns  had  made  the  night  before. 

The  deep,  dry  snow  was  followed  by  a 
freeze  that  left  a  glistening  crust  over  every 
drift.  Once  more  Fleet  Foot  and  the  rest 
of  the  deer  could  run  nimbly  on  their  spread- 
ing hoofs;    and   young   Frisky   Fox    and 


ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT  119 

Mother  Grouse  Hen  and  Mammy  Cotton 
tail,  the  brown  bunny,  could  foot  their  way 
across  the  white  expanse  in  search  of  food. 
For  they  were  sure  of  at  least  a  fighting 
chance  of  getting  home  again. 

Fleet  Foot  and  the  fawns,  returning  every 
night  to  the  haystack,  with  a  little  band 
whose  sides  were  as  pinched  with  hunger  as 
their  own,  now  passed  Old  Man  Lynx  with- 
out a  fear.  For  where  there  was  footing  that 
would  bear  their  weight,  they  knew  they 
could  outspeed  him. 

Hereafter  the  snow  might  whirl  and  the 
spruce  trees  bend  and  sway  in  the  wind  that 
wailed  through  their  tops,  but  the  white- 
tailed  deer  of  the  woods  about  Mount  Olaf 
were  always  sure  of  a  little  hay  to  tide  them 
over  the  month  of  hunger. 

** Father,"  said  the  Boy,  ^*IVe  made  a 
birthday  resolution.  I  am  going  to  befriend 
every  furred  and  feathered  creature  in  these 
woods." 

"All  of  them?"  his  Father  asked.  The 
Hired  Man  paused  in  the  smoking  of  his 
traps  to  listen.    **Tou  aren't  going  to  tell 


120  ADVENTURES  OF  FLEET  FOOT 

us  we  can't  do  any  more  trapping  this  win- 
ter?" 

*^You  can  trap  musk-rats,"  said  the  Boy 
thoughtfully.  *'And,  of  course,  wolves,  if 
any  more  should  come.  And  weasels — the 
wicked  creatures!  They  are  only  cruel, 
blood-thirsty  ruffians  who  kill  without  need, 
just  for  the  love  of  killing." 

'*What  about  Old  Man  Lynx?" 

**  Well,  I  know  he  is  not  popular.  But,  af- 
ter all,  he's  a  good  mouser.  And  we  must 
spare  our  mousers,  the  fox  and  the  skunk 
and  the  big  barn  owl, — for  the  mice  destroy 
our  grain,  and  I  don't  know  anything  musk- 
rats  are  good  for  except  their  fur.  I'm  not 
quite  sure  about  the  wild  cat,  but  he  doesn't 
do  much  harm,  does  he,  as  long  as  there  are 
fish  to  be  caught?  And  he  is  a  good 
mouser." 

''What  about  bears?"  asked  the  Hired 
Man,  with  one  foot  on  the  chopping  block. 

"Never  do  any  great  amount  of  harm,"  re- 
turned the  Farmer.  ''They  can  catch  mice 
with  the  best  of  them.  Besides,  they're 
mostly  vegetarians.   It  isn  't  once  in  a  coon 's 


ADVENTURES  OP  FLEET  FOOT  121 

age  you'll  find  one  of  these  black  bears  that 
would  harm  a  baby,  if  you  let  him  alone." 

**The  deer  seem  awfully  afraid  of  bears." 

*'They  have  a  lot  more  reason  for  being 
afraid  of  men,"  said  the  Farmer,  eyeing  the 
Hired  Man's  gun. 

**And  porcupines?  What  about  porcu- 
pines?" asked  the  latter. 

**They  mind  their  own  business,"  spoke 
up  the  Boy.  *^Let  them  live.  You'll  have 
plenty  to  do,  hunting  animals  like  wolver- 
ines and  martins  and  mink  and  weasels.  But 
don't  any  one  hurt  my  friends  I" 

Thus  Fleet  Foot  and  her  fawns  were  al- 
lowed to  live  happily  on,  as  season  followed 
season  in  the  good  green  woods. 


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